Rising Food, Gas Prices Fuel CPI

Buying Frosted Flakes and a tank of gas for your family minivan will cost you more soon, but don't call it inflation -- at least not if you're at the Fed.

While the costs of putting food on the table and getting to the grocery store, work or school are part of all Americans' everyday lives, the Federal Reserve actually excludes gasoline and food in its main measuring stick for inflation, known as "core inflation."

Economists also tend to ignore food and energy, with the reasoning that the prices are so volatile that it doesn't give an accurate read on "real" inflation. ...