inflation

With the economy still trying to muster a recovery, and unemployment still around 8.5%, any price increases are painful. And just a month into 2012, a spate of headlines points to more hurt ahead. Here are seven ways inflation will be digging into your wallet this year:

If your New Year's resolution was to pinch more pennies, Starbucks has some bad news. The coffee king is raising prices due to rising costs of coffee and milk. And they aren't the only restaurant chain getting ready to pass higher expenses on to their customers.

For the first time since 2009, Social Security recipients will get a COLA increase in their checks in 2012. But that 3.6% bump probably isn't going to cover the real rise in your expenses. So where should you invest to find that extra income?

Consumer prices stayed flat in November, further evidence that inflation has cooled off. Energy costs dropped for the second straight month, which offset higher prices that Americans paid for food, clothes and medical services. The consumer price index was unchanged in November, the Labor Department said Friday. That followed a 0.1 percent decrease in October.

Nothing is sacred when it comes to the whims of the global economy -- not even your holiday bird. The cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner -- turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings -- will increase about 13% this year, the biggest jump since 1990.

The Federal Reserve is holding off on any new actions to help the economy because stronger growth is giving it time to gauge the impact of steps it's already taken. Fed policymakers made the announcement after a two-day meeting.

Consumers paid more for food and gas last month, although inflation outside those volatile categories was tame. The Labor Department says the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% in September, below August's 0.4% rise. Excluding food and energy, so-called core prices increased 0.1%, the smallest rise since March.

The U.S. stock market's recent gyrations have many investors ready to look overseas for better returns. But it's a complicated world out there, which is why many less-experienced investors are still sitting on the global sidelines. Here's what you need to know make investing in emerging markets a little less scary.

Everyone now knows the federal government is about to run up against its limit for borrowing money, but everyone also knows that governments can -- and do -- just print the stuff. Washington owns the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Could the way to sidestep this looming crisis be just making more money?

After the losses of the past week, it seems hard to imagine that the S&P 500 has much further to decline. But the index took a fall to near 1,000 as recently as last July, and the issues that punished the markets then are looming over the economy again -- or perhaps, still.