Inflation data point #27...

China.

China's inflation accelerated to the quickest pace in more than 11 years after the worst snowstorms in half a century disrupted food supplies.

Consumer prices rose 7.1 percent in January from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today, after gaining 6.5 percent in December. That was more than the 7 percent median estimate of 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Food prices soared 18 percent after blizzards paralyzed transport systems and destroyed crops. The government faces the challenge of curbing inflation without derailing the expansion of the world's fastest-growing major economy. [More]

This bears watching. Their economy matters at least as much as the US today, I think, because measured in Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) they are gaining fast. Moreover, everybody and their uncle are betting on Chinese growth for their economic future.