Across the world, reviving inflation has stirred hopes that after years of soggy demand prices may finally be gaining escape velocity. A dose of inflation, within reason, helps economies grow by boosting company profits — with textbooks telling us wages should follow — and makes debt easier to service, at least until interest rates rise. The latest reflation burst was sparked last year by a big turnaround in Chinese factory prices and an improving outlook for global growth. But this may not herald a return to inflation as we once knew it. Unlike previous cycles when prices accelerated and policymakers stepped in to cool demand, a damper this time round is the dizzying pace of innovation in the retail sector. The rise of online-shopping and price-comparison websites has hooked consumers on discounts. And even when people tear themselves from their screens and make it to the shops, fewer staff and less glitzy stores keep prices down too. It's a development that economists at an Austra...
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