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A key measure of inflation fell to nearly a five-year low last month as apartment rental price growth slowed and gas prices fell, offering some relief to Americans grappling with the sharp cost increases of the past five years. Inflation dropped to 2.4% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.7% in December and not too far from the Federal Reserves 2% target. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose just 2.5% in January from a year ago, down from 2.6% the previous month and the smallest increase since March 2021. Fridays report suggests inflation is cooling, but the cost of food, gas, and apartment rents have soared after the pandemic, with consumer prices still about 25% higher than they were five years ago. The increase in such a broad range of costs has kept affordability, a topic that helped shape the most recent U.S. presidential election, front and center as a dominant political issue. And on a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2% in January from December, while core prices rose 0.3%. Core inflation was held down by a sharp drop in the price of used cars, which fell 1.8% just in January from December. Inflation continues to decelerate and is not threatening to move back up, and that will enable more rate cuts by the Fed, said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust. There were signs in the report that retailers are passing on more of the costs of President Donald Trump’s tariffs to consumers for goods such as furniture, appliances, and clothes. But those increases were offset by falling prices elsewhere. In other areas, Trump has delayed, scrapped, or provided exemptions to his duties. Furniture prices jumped 0.7% in January from the previous month and are up 4% from a year ago. Appliances rose 1.3% in January though are only slightly more expensive than a year earlier. Clothing price rose 0.3% in January from December and have increased 1.7% in the past year. Some services prices also rose: Airline fares soared 6.5% just in January, after a 3.8% jump in November, though they rose only 2.2% from a year earlier. Music streaming subscriptions increased 4.5% in January and are 7.8% higher than a year ago. Yet those increases were largely offset by price declines, or much slower price growth, in other areas, including many that make up a greater share of Americans’ spending. The cost of used cars, for example, plunged 1.8% in January, the biggest decline in two years. Gas prices fell 3.2% last month, the third drop in the past four months, and are down 7.5% from a year earlier. Grocery prices rose just 0.2% in January, after a big 0.6% rise in December, and are up 2.1% from a year ago. Hotel prices ticked down 0.1% in January and have fallen 2% from last year. Rental prices and the cost of owning a home, which make up a third of the inflation index, both rose just 0.2% in December, while rents increased only 2.8% from a year earlier. That is much lower than during the pandemic: Rents rose by more than 8% in 2022. The tariffs have increased some costs and many economists forecast companies will pass through more of those increases to consumers in the coming months. A study released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that U.S. companies and consumers are paying nearly 90% of the tariffs’ costs, echoing similar findings in studies by Harvard and other economists. Yet the increases haven’t been as broad-based as many economists feared. Tilley said that the higher tariffs have pulled some consumer spending away from other services, which has forced companies to keep those prices a bit lower as a result. We dont think consumers are in a place to take on price increases across the board, so youre not seeing those price increses, he said. Hiring was particularly weak last year, slowing wage growth, and many Americans remain gloomy about the economy. Some economists note that the rental figures were distorted by October’s six-week government shutdown, which interrupted the Labor Department’s gathering of the data. The government plugged in estimated figures for October which economists say have artificially lowered some of the housing costs. Companies are still grappling with the higher costs from Trump’s duties, though some have benefited from tariffs being delayed or scrapped. Arin Schultz, chief growth officer at Naturepedic, which makes organic mattresses in Cleveland, breathed a sigh of relief when Trump postponed import duties on upholstered furniture until 2027. They would have substantially pushed up the cost of the headboards the company imports. Schultz welcomed the decision to lower tariffs on imports from India to 18%, from 50%. Naturepedic sources a lot of the cotton fabrics and bedding that it sells from India. When that reduction kicks in, he said, the company could even cut some prices. Still, Naturepedic’s costs jumped because of duties on imports from Vietnam and Malaysia, where it sources its organic latex, which can’t be grown in the United States. Naturepedic makes its mattresses in the United States at a factory in Cleveland and employs about 200 workers. We’re paying more now for that, he said, and the company raised its prices about 7% last year as a result. “Tariffs are awful. We are less profitable now as a company because of tariffs. If inflation gets closer to the Federal Reserves target of 2%, it could allow the central bank to cut its key short-term interest rate further this year, as Trump has repeatedly demanded. High borrowing costs for things like mortgages and auto loans have also contributed to a perception that many big-ticket items remain out of reach for many Americans. Inflation surged to 9.1% in 2022 as consumer spending soared as supply chains snarled after the pandemic. It began to fall in 2023 but leveled off around 3% in mid-2024 and remained elevated last year. At the same time, measures of wage growth have declined as hiring has cratered. With companies reluctant to add jobs, workers don’t have as much leverage to demand raises. Christopher Rugaber, AP economics writer
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E-Commerce
When most founders begin their journey, they focus on a good product and the right market. But what happens when your customers dont yet know they have a problem? What happens when theres no market, even when you know you have a solution people need? Its rare to find success stories of simultaneous company and market building because its not a challenge that every organization faces. But if youre innovating within your industry, its a problem you should expect and prepare for because it means having to operate in two realitiesthe internal reality where you know the challenges in your industry and how youre going to solve them, and the external reality where nobody else has recognized the problem that needs to be solved. In a highly regulated industry like healthcare, safety, and stability create an inertia that often works against innovation. Many products fail simply because they lack market demand and infrastructure. To succeed, you should look beyond the solution and craft a compelling narrative that tells the entire story of your product and why its needed. As a founder of Paragonix, I navigated these two worlds firsthand during the development of our organ preservation technology. For decades, people transported fragile human organs on ice in coolers you can find in a hardware store. No one was really asking Is there a better way to do this? until we did. Here are five things I learned about bridging the gap between internal conviction and market skepticism: 1. Name the market When youre defining a market that doesnt exist yet, one of the most overlooked steps is giving it a name. A name gives stakeholders a tangible anchor and helps sell the version of reality where the market is already real. Then the focus shifts to creating shared belief, and that only happens by getting out there and talking to people. Its a lot like painting a landscape. Your company may ultimately be just a small piece of the background, but the more detail you give your audience, the more theyll come to understand the whole picture and how you fit into it. Ironically, you may start to see competitors using the language youve created, but thats still a win. After all, if someone else uses the market terminology I created, its a huge validation of the landscape I painted. 2. Compile ample data Particularly in the healthcare industry, compelling data about your product is the proof of concept that unlocks belief. You need strong basic science or engineering validation to demonstrate how your product works, which helps your future customers realize that something theyre doing isnt working. Then, you need clinical science showing that your product is not only effective but safe and superior to the existing standard of care. In my experience, that massive data collection effort is what ultimately convinces the market that they need your product. Before we created the Paragonix SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System, our first portable donor organ preservation system, close to 100% of donor hearts arrived at their destination without any temperature control, monitoring, or reporting, potentially impacting patient outcomes by injuring donor hearts. From the data we collected, we knew there was a dire need for a solution and that our technology could provide the answer. 3. Amplify early adopters Healthcare is an industry where adoption risk is high, and validation relies heavily on peer trust, making it vital that you amplify success cases from early adopters. These initial risk-takers are more than customers; they are essential co-creators of the new market category and can help you actively cultivate conviction within the industry. Whether you choose to create a structured advisory council or not, check in often and give them ample opportunity to provide feedback. Doing so doesnt just secure their commitment to sharing positive outcomes with the public; it helps you transform implementation hurdles into strategic operations. 4. Consider the entire ecosystem As your market scales, its important to study the entire product journey and its surrounding ecosystem. You need to know the adjacent problems, complementary products, and be able to spot future technological needs that sit on the border of your current solution. This is the part that keeps you innovating in a smart, seamless direction, putting you one step ahead of the competition. As a founder, Ive seen firsthand the importance of talking to not just stakeholders but also end-usersthe clinicians, administrators, buyers, and even patients who arent decision-makers but can amplify your product and market vision. They can offer feedback on workflow integration, usability, and pain points that ensure youre delivering solutions people both love and leverage. 5. Listen to negative feedback When youre in the early stages of company development, a positive outlook is almost a requirement for overcoming the fear, anxiety, and worry that can threaten to hold you back. Thats one reason that it can be hard to accept feedback from people who dont like your product, dont grasp your vision, or who actively avoid collaborating with you. But as a company leader, you need to listen to what detractors say. When theyre right about something, it can be a tough pill to swallow, but acting can protect the health of your company as it grows. If theyre wrong, its still important to listen. Developing thick skin is a skill that no one can take away from you and will be useful throughout the entire journey. FINAL THOUGHTS Building a company is hard, but building an industry is harder. Markets dont emerge on their own, but leaders who are willing to question long-standing assumptions and replace them with evidence and structure can build them. When you succeed, the impact extends far beyond your organization because you did more than win the market; you raised the standard for an entire industry. Lisa Anderson is the president and cofounder of Paragonix Technologies, a Getinge company.
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E-Commerce
Much of healthcare still operates like a series of snapshots. For most routine care, you go in once a year for a physical. Maybe you get a few labs drawn. If something looks off, you might get a follow-up or a prescription. But within the constraints of a short visit and limited longitudinal data, care often ends with broad guidance like eat better or check back next year. Meanwhile, your health is changing every day. Metabolic function, inflammation, aging, and chronic disease dont switch on overnight. They unfold gradually over time, shaped by lifestyle factors including sleep, nutrition, movement, stress, as well as genetics and environment. But unless you cross a diagnostic threshold or show up with symptoms, the system doesnt intervene. Too often, care is triggered only when something has already gone wrong. Thats because were still practicing episodic, event-driven care, not trend-based care. THE LIMITS OF EPISODIC DATA You cant deliver truly personalized proactive prevention with episodic data alone. A single cholesterol reading can be clinically meaningful, particularly at extremes. The same is true for a day of elevated blood sugar. But outside of acute thresholds, context and trajectory matter. To detect risk early and intervene meaningfully, we need a care model informed by continuous trends, not isolated events. This is where AI, and specifically agentic AI, can make a difference. WHAT AGENTIC AI REALLY MEANS When people hear agentic AI, they often assume it means handing over decisions entirely to machines. In reality, agentic AI refers to systems that can act autonomously within defined goals, constraints, and oversight. Think of autopilot in aviation. Autopilot manages routine complexity by continuously monitoring conditions, detecting turbulence, and making micro-adjustments. Pilots maintain oversight and control, but theyre no longer burdened with manually managing every variable. In healthcare, agentic AI functions the same way. It continuously observes multiple data streams, identifies subtle but meaningful changes, and delivers timely, relevant insights that enhance clinical judgment, not replace it. This is not theoretical. Health systems are already integrating AI into diagnostics, operations, and clinical workflows, embedding it into electronic health records, imaging systems, and decision-support tools to manage complexity and surface risk earlier. These deployments signal a shift from isolated AI applications toward infrastructure-level intelligence operating continuously alongside clinicians. FROM VOLUME TO MEANING We already have more health data than we know what to do with. The challenge isnt collection. Its synthesis. Agentic AI helps us move from data overload to actionable insight. By analyzing longitudinal signals, including biological, behavioral, and environmental data, it reveals patterns that allow us to act before risk escalates. This is especially powerful in managing chronic conditions, aging, and metabolic health, areas where prevention is possible, but only when signals are caught early. Research shows that combining longitudinal wearable data with clinical records improves our ability to predict future risk. What agentic systems add is the ability to translate those predictions into timely, predefined actions rather than leaving insights dormant until the next visit. PATIENTS ARE ALREADY LIVING IN A CONTINUOUS WORLD At the same time, people are increasingly turning to AI tools to fill the gap. Recent reporting from OpenAI shows that more than 40 million people use ChatGPT daily for health questions, with roughly 70% of those conversations occurring outside normal clinic hours. OpenAI also reported about 600,000 health-related queries per week from underserved rural communities. The behavior is clear: People want real-time answers that the healthcare system is often not structured to provide between visits. This creates a growing gap between how people live and how medicine is practiced. Agentic AI offers a way to close it by acting as the connective tissue between daily life and clinical care. It doesnt replace clinicians. It doesnt make healthcare autonomous. It makes it responsive. A NEW INFLECTION POINT Autopilot didnt revolutionize aviation by removing the pilot. It changed aviation by making the system manageable, extending human capability through continuous support. Healthcare is now at a similar inflection point. Data volumes will continue to rise. Clinical capacity will remain limited. And episodic care will grow more misaligned with how disease and aging actually develop. Agentic AI offers a path forward by enabling systems to take bounded, predefined actions in response to continuous monitoring, whether by surfacing emerging risk patterns to clinicians or by triggering patient-facing actions like scheduling follow-up visits when concerning trends persist. The result is care that occurs earlier, with better timing, rather than at the moment of acute decline. The technology for agentic AI already exists. Regulatory pathways are emerging as well, but adoption depends on whether incentives, workflows, and leadership priorities evolve to support continuous care. Like autopilot in aviation, agentic AI in healthcare will be introduced gradually, first in well-bounded, lower-risk workflows, then expanding as systems, incentives, and governance structures evolve to support continuous intelligence at scale. To unlock its full potential, healthcare needs reimbursement models that reward prevention, clinical architectures designed for longitudinal data, and governance frameworks that enable responsible deployment without freezing progress. Agentic AI doesnt require a reinvention of regulation, but it does require modernizing operations, governance, and accountability. The systems that move first will define the next era of healthcare. Noosheen Hashemi is founder and CEO of January AI.
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E-Commerce
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