Two years ago, Nouriel Roubini predicted the current economic crisis. Now he sees things becoming far worse.

The cost of living is rising at the fastest rate since the recession of the early 1990s, handing a de facto pay cut to the American worker.

Consumer prices were 5.6 percent higher in July than a year ago, all but assuring that the Fed will keep interest rates on hold.

Consumer prices rose at twice the rate expected in July to post the fastest rate of year-over-year growth in 17.5 years, pushed up by costlier energy and food.

In less than a year, Spain has gone from brisk growth to acute distress as a housing collapse, high energy prices and the world financial crisis have drained its lifeblood.

In less than a year, Spain has gone from brisk growth to acute distress as a housing collapse, high energy prices and the world financial crisis have drained its lifeblood.

The Bank of England offered a pessimistic outlook for the rest of the year, saying it expected inflation to hit 5 percent, while Japan appears to be flirting with recession.

Even if the economy continues to deteriorate, economists generally agree that the United States is not heading for another Great Depression.

Policymakers seemed to put slightly less emphasis on the inflationary risks of keeping rates low than they had at their last meeting.

Consumer spending increased 0.6 percent in June, but prices rose 0.8 percent, the government reported, indicating months of challenges to come.