| Inflation data, oil supply problems, and Covid is still hurting growth. This morning's U.S. inflation number is expected to show that prices accelerated more than 5% in August for the third straight month. The data, released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, is being closely watched by investors for indications on the path of Fed policy. There is also the continued discussion about how transitory the spike in prices will be, with a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York yesterday showing that consumer expectations for medium-term inflation hitting the highest level on record. Speaking of rising prices, oil's recent rally is continuing this morning with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate for October delivery trading close to $71. With producers in the Gulf of Mexico still struggling to get production back online in the wake of Hurricane Ida, and some of the region's refineries currently getting hit by Hurricane Nicholas, U.S. supply is well below forecast at the moment. The International Energy Agency this morning said the drop in U.S. output wiped out the increases agreed by OPEC+ meaning the world will likely have to wait until next month to see an overall rise in production.  | There are increasing signs that the rapid recovery from pandemic-related shutdowns is running out of steam faster than expected. Forecasts for growth in U.S. and beyond are showing that most countries will end the year short of the pre-Covid trend. The resilience of the delta strain of the the virus remains one of the biggest challenges, with China locking down a coastal city of 4.5 million people due to an outbreak there, and Russian President Vladimir Putin going into self-isolation after people in his circle fell ill. The U.S. has fallen to last place among the Group of Seven nations when it comes to the proportion of population with at least one vaccine shot. With most investors waiting for today's key inflation data there is little to drive global equites. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was broadly unchanged while in Japan the Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7% to hit the highest level since August 1990. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.1% lower at 5:50 a.m. S&P 500 futures pointed to a small move into the green at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.338% and gold slipped. Today's Apple Inc. launch of a new iPhone and Apple Watch has been overshadowed by Friday's court ruling which could cost the company billions, and the rushing out of an emergency update after a security flaw was discovered in its Messages app. In politics today, the UN General Assembly opens in New York and California holds the recall election which Governor Gavin Newsom is likely to win, according to polls. Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. Happy CPI day! At 8:30 a.m., we'll get the latest reading of the popular inflation measure, which is expected to show that prices across the economy rose 5.3% in August, a slight deceleration from July's 5.4% gain. There's probably no economic indicator that's more political. Even an elevated unemployment rate doesn't get people's blood boiling like an elevated inflation rate. Something to bear in mind is that there's a large class element wrapped up in this whole discussion. You often hear things like "inflation always hurts the poor" but often it's wealthy bond investors on TV (or people on the internet trying to sell you gold bullion) who are the ones making this claim. The inflation story is also heavily wrapped up in the wage story, and here again class matters a lot. Many would agree that it's a good thing that lower-paid jobs are seeing significantly faster wage gains than higher paid ones right now. By the same token, some are outraged that small- and medium-sized businesses have struggled so much to hire. Or that in some places you can make $18/hour working at a McDonald's. Meanwhile, per Goldman Sachs, wages are clearly on the minds of corporate officers and therefore investors. A recent note from Ben Snider finds that management talked about the risk to profits from rising wages at the fastest pace in over a decade. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter at @TheStalwart Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. | 
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