Serving as the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Thanksgiving economist in the 1990s was a pleasure. The cost of food thirty years ago was generally good news, so there was no downside. Unlike most of the more contested issues I worked … Continue reading →
This final lesson on shaping data in Excel is brought to you by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) website. Reviewing the YouTube videos created for this data-shaping exercise, the 4 videos span 45 total … Continue reading →
A traditional way of shaping data in Excel is by using the VLOOKUP() function. After identifying the item to look up and the array in which to search for it, a range is identified where the new information can be … Continue reading →
One of the most powerful Excel function tools is the INDEX/MATCH() combination. It can be set to find specific character strings and deliver the cell contents at the intersection of the row and column string matches. This is the third … Continue reading →
When cleaning data files in Excel, one never moves away from manually pushing data around. Manually entering data by hand, sorting, and/or dragging and dropping in a new location; they all take time. But for small amounts of data, a … Continue reading →
The last few months have provided opportunity to flex my spreadsheet skillset. Excel code and technique seemed to erupt through the keyboard. In the last few months, diverse datasets have included: 2024 household food expenditures 2024 household power consumption and … Continue reading →
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) carries significant weight in the flow of decisions and confidence in the US economy. Does the CPI mirror authentic food purchases? YES! Are household food expenditures and the Food … Continue reading →
Food Price Fun compares the theory of food prices to practices of buying food. On the one hand the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) food prices provide the benchmark for the macroeconomy of food. But … Continue reading →
The price of eggs reported by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics used in the January Consumer Price Index (CPI), was $4.95 per dozen. In many places it is higher than this. In the Midwest if you know where to … Continue reading →
Food price inflation is still in the news. Eggs have become a national security issue. Well, one would think so from the news. Mostly, the egg-laying chickens are sick and dying. But once we get beyond this egg-industry crisis, we … Continue reading →
