Friday, July 12, 2019Following a fresh read on June’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) yesterday morning, today we see the other side of the coin: Producer Price Index (PPI), also for June — and it also came out slightly ahead of expectations: +0.1% growth on the headline, compared with -0.1% expected and in-line with +0.1% in May.Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, this print rises to +0.3% — also higher than expected. Month-over-month PPI was a bit cooler: unchanged versus +0.2% expected. Still, the past two days have brought inflation-tracking economic data that does not illustrate a slow implosion in the domestic market; in fact, we see moderate growth much as we’ve seen over the past several years.Year over year, headline PPI grew 1.7%, with core +2.3%. These numbers, as yesterday’s CPI reads demonstrated, are not blowing anybody away with gangbuster pricing strength, but they are firm and steady — and in the right direction. In fact, the core read at +2.3% represents the 23rd straight month of core PPI growth at 2% or higher. This pretty much epitomizes consistency.Consolidation in Electric, Autonomous VehiclesFord F and Volkswagen have announced they’re joining forces in both electric vehicle (EV) and self-driving integrated technology. Volkswagen’s extensive EV tech will now be shared with Ford, which had previously been criticized by analysts for not doing enough development in that space.Volkswagen will also be investing $2.6 billion in Pittsburgh, PA-based Argo A.I., a self-driving integrated platform company valued at $7 billion overall. This will be the new trans-continental auto industry venture’s major move against self-driving progress with company’s like Alphabet’s GOOGL Waymo and Tesla TSLA. Ford shares moved up on the news in today’s pre-market.Mark VickerySenior EditorQuestions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>> More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report Ford Motor Company (F): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report