NPR.

Hey, uh, hey Robert, I see you're blowing up some balloons.

What is going on here? Some kind of inflation party?

Hey, hey, that was gonna be my joke and then you just deflated the whole thing.

Uh, yeah, it's kind of obvious, Robert.

But I couldn't know but notice that these balloons are sort of a boring light tannish color.

Yeah, now that you pointed out, these are not your usual colorful festive balloons.

They're more, how would we put it?

Beige.

Yes they are.

And that can mean only one thing.

Ehhhhhh, it's the Beige Awards.

And I'm your host, Robert Smith.

And I'm Adrian Mah.

It's a tradition here at the indicator that when the US government releases their bi-cornerly economic report known as the Beige Book,

we scan the pages carefully for the best anecdotes about the economy and give an award.

And despite all these dull balloons around me, the latest Beige Book is a humdinger.

Employers can't hire fast enough.

Some companies have too much inventory, some don't have enough.

Inflation is everywhere.

And with all this pressure,

something,

...