US inflation hits new 40-year high in Jan; stocks fall; bond yield rises

The acceleration of prices ranged across the economy, from food and energy to apartment rents and electricity

Inflation soared over the past year at its highest rate in four decades, hammering America’s consumers, wiping out pay raises and reinforcing the Federal Reserve's decision to begin raising borrowing rates across the economy.

The Labour Department said Thursday that consumer prices jumped 7.5 per cent last month compared with 12 months earlier, the steepest year-over-year increase since February 1982. US stocks fell on Thursday in intra-day trade, with Big Tech leading the declines. Rate-sensitive S&P 500 sectors were among the biggest percentage losers, including real estate and utilities.

Government bond yields rose sharply, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note touching 2