Asian Inflation Zapping US Pocketbooks

Cheap Asian imports have helped keep American inflation down for decades—but those days appear to be over, the New York Times warns. Rapidly rising costs of fuel, food and labor in countries like China, Vietnam, and Taiwan are beginning to be passed on to their export markets, just as the American dollar weakens and recession looms.

Inflation rates in the US still lag behind some skyrocketing levels in the developing countries that provide nearly half of American imports, but that could change as businesses skirt government efforts to control prices. The double-whammy at the US checkout may get even worse as worried central banks move away from the dollar, weakening the greenback even further. (More inflation stories.)