The US Economy and FedEx

"Economists polled by Reuters had expected import prices to fall 0.5% last month. In the 12 months to November, import prices fell 1.6%," the news service reported.

"Stripping out fuels and food prices, import prices dipped 0.1% as the cost of capital goods fell by the most since March 2010 and automobile prices were flat, indicating that broader inflation pressures remained benign.

"The global economy is restraining prices here and abroad. This indicates global demand is soft and will remain soft in the near term," said Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh. "This adds to the perception that inflation is not a concern."

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that at least one FedEx (FDX) employee suspected the worldwide delivery company was overcharging customers in 2011.

This became public when some internal emails were used in a lawsuit that accuses FDX of overcharging business customers by improperly "...assessing them residential surcharges. The emails were released by a federal judge in Memphis Monday.

Evidently a company sales rep in Scottsdale, Ariz., complained in an email to a superior his belief that FDX had been "systematically overcharging our customers for residential delivery fees."

The Journal quoted the sales rep saying, "I have brought this to the attention of many people over the past five years, including more than one managing director and no action has been taken to address it."

A FedEx spokeswoman, Sally Davenport, said in an email to the newspaper on Tuesday that FedEx "highly values" its relationships with its customers (both business and residential). These "documents do not tell the entire story of this case."

Davenport was also reported to have written that FDX "will continue to defend these allegations in a court of law." She made it clear that customers with billing concerns can pursue refunds online or call the company. The important point to remember here is that these are "allegations", not proven facts.

On Wednesday, Link and Jim Cramer wrote to their subscribers that FDX is set to report earnings on Dec. 19 before the markets open. Consensus expectations are calling for earnings per share of $1.41.

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