Are rents surging or stalling? Depends on whom you ask.

If you’re a renter in need of a chuckle, just look at the consumer price index, which calculates rent inflation at just 3% for last year. The cost is rising much faster for many renters, and other data sources show the increase near 18%. Today, we’ll talk about this wide data disconnect and why how we measure housing inflation is so important. We’ll also hear about the business of tracking other businesses’ shipments and check in with a downtown Los Angeles cheesemonger and a certified public accountant in New York City.