U.S. stocks hovered near record levels yesterday as rising bond yields kept investor sentiment in check.  Many on Wall Street believe that surging interest rates could make the high-flying stock market less attractive, while posing a threat to sectors like technology that have benefited from the low-rate environment.

St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said that he doesn’t see a bubble in asset prices and doubts the central bank needs to start tightening policy anytime soon.  With prices surging in the stock market and in alternative assets like bitcoin, Fed officials have faced repeated questions about whether low rates and trillions in bond buying have helped create dangerously high valuations.  The Fed has stated that still don’t see any clear signs of excesses in the US economy.

Buying nutritious food is getting costlier as hunger in the country remains at elevated levels during the pandemic.  The consumer price index (CPI) for food increased by 0.4% in December 2020 from the previous month, with food prices ending the year 3.9% higher than 2019, according to recent data from the Department of Agriculture. The year-over-year jump outpaced the 20-year average of 2.