I don t know, hopes might be the right word, jon, that they can salvage something from the ashes of the build back better package which they will tout as long-term helpful for inflationary pressures. in the short term they have the infrastructure law, which they think will help ease things like supply chain bottlenecks that are sort of exacerbating issues at places like ports. so they ll talk about that as well, but certainly at the top-of-mind issue, they say president biden is the guy that likes to be on the road. he has been cooped up because of ukraine, also, of course, because of covid and the omicron surge. so i think for him to be on the road is a sigh of relief for the staff. there are real problems coming out of china. so much of it seems like it is out of the federal government s hands, the white house s hands. are there things they can do to help even around the edges to ease the supply chain worries?
Are running out. jake. miguel marquez, thank you very much. these supply chain worries come as we learn inflation is near a 40-year high, climbing 7.5% in just 12 months. we learned today from the bureau of labor statistics. it s the steepest rise since 1982. president biden acknowledging that inflation is putting stress on americans budgets. it s also a huge political liability for president biden. a new cnn poll shows nearly six in ten americans disapprove of his time as president. 62% disapprove of his handling of the economy while 37% approve. vanessa now looks into the growing sticker shock on everything from cars to your grocery bills. reporter: you see it at checkout, seemingly everything is more expensive. the benchmark for prices, the consumer price index, up 0.6% in january and 7.5% in the last 12
And the last time it was this low was back in 1969, the same year as the moon landing. those hitting the shops may not like the higher prices, the result of supply chain worries and inflation but look at the crowds, it does not seem to stop them. the prospect of a return to pre pandemic spending levels seems bright. let s speak to fiona cincotta market analyst at city index in london. nice to see you, fiona. it is all very encouraging, the american consumer is back and thatis american consumer is back and that is great for the global economy. but talk us through the latestjobs economy. but talk us through the latest jobs figures economy. but talk us through the latestjobs figures as well that look pretty historic, actually. that look pretty historic, actually- that look pretty historic, actuall . , ., ., ,, actually. they do. perhaps ma be actually. they do. perhaps maybe too good actually. they do. perhaps maybe too good to - actually. they do. perhaps maybe too good to be - act
Like food and energy. when we pay our gas and electricity bills, 5% of that money goes automatically to the taxman. there s something very simple the government could do it would be immediate, and it would be felt automatically on people s bills next month, and that is to cut that rate of vat from 5% to 0%. there will be no blank cheques in the budget, the treasury wants to move on from pandemic spending but there are still big promises to be fulfilled. nick eardley, bbc news. so what can we expect to hear from the chancellor on wednesday? our economics editor, faisal islam, is here. the budget backdrop is an economy that has rebounded faster from the lockdowns than assumed at the last one in march, with unemployment no longer expected to hit 6%. but some of that rebound is petering out against a background of supply chain worries and rising prices. it is notjust the budget there s also a three year spending review to continue
They see them. tell us more about the prospects as they see them- they see them. hello. the post lockdown recovery they see them. hello. the post lockdown recovery is they see them. hello. the post lockdown recovery is getting i they see them. hello. the post - lockdown recovery is getting messy, thatis lockdown recovery is getting messy, that is the message from this important meeting of central bank governors and the world s finance ministers in washington. 0f governors and the world s finance ministers in washington. of course the situation right now is better than it was a year ago in the depth of the pandemic. you can see it in the growth numbers and the jobs numbers, but the good news is not evenly spread around the world. developing countries, particularly those that cannot get their hands on enough vaccine, they are particularly at risk. we have that situation notjust in developing countries, but in more advanced economies as well and the imf is warning them to be very vig