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Economists regularly issue reports calling inflation tame or mild, or some other word that suggests consumers shouldn't be feeling much pain.

One example: "Inflation has been tame and this is providing households with some relief" from economic stress, according to an assessment done this week by PNC Financial Services.

But if you happen to be buying gasoline or groceries, you may not be feeling relieved — at all.

"It's kind of hard to even buy milk and bread," said Kimberly Acevedo, a bank teller who was shopping at a Best Market in Harlem. To search for lower prices, "you could find yourself going to four supermarkets ... one for meat, one for fresh fruit, and one for other things."

The gap between what economists say and what you feel at the register can seem so wide. Here's why:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measures inflation by studying the retail price of thousands of goods, compiling the data into the consumer price index. For the past year, the CPI is up 2.1 percent.

"That is below the historical average," BLS economist Jonathan Church said. "Since 1913, the CPI has increased at an average annual rate of 3.2 percent."

So if you were to look only at the CPI, then you would conclude that inflation is low and consumers should be feeling pretty good at the checkout.

Economy

Hiring Looks Good Now, But Wage Growth Lags

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's foreign minister said Friday he will tell U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at a meeting this weekend that Berlin wants to reinvigorate the two countries' friendship "on an honest basis" after asking Washington's top spy to leave.

Thursday's decision to demand the departure of the intelligence representative at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin was "the right decision, a necessary step and an appropriate reaction to the breach of trust that has taken place," Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin.

It followed reports over the past 10 days that U.S. intelligence had recruited two Germans — a man who worked at the country's foreign intelligence agency and a defense ministry employee. Steinmeier said those reports were "troubling."

They added to friction and frustration over reports last year that the U.S. was intercepting Internet traffic in Germany and eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone calls

Steinmeier said he will meet Kerry on the sidelines of talks in Vienna about Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. State Department confirmed that a bilateral meeting would take place.

There is "no alternative" to Germany's longstanding partnership with the United States in view of challenges in Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Steinmeier stressed. "That is why this cooperation must be marked not just by trust but by mutual respect."

"We want to reinvigorate our partnership, our friendship on an honest basis — we in any case are prepared to do that," he said. "And that will be the message I will give to my American colleague."

Government spokesman Steffen said Germany expects the unidentified American spy to leave the country "promptly."

NPR's Jason Beaubien is in Sierra Leone, covering the Ebola outbreak that began in March in Guinea and has spread to neighboring countries. We'll be speaking with him throughout the week about what he's seeing on the ground. Today he's in Kailahun, the largest town in the country's Eastern Province, with a population of about 18,000, and the epicenter of Sierra Leone's outbreak; in the past week, Doctors without Borders staff in Kailahun have treated more than 70 patients with Ebola-like symptoms. When we called, Beaubien was with a team driving to the treatment center to pick up the body of a 70-year-old woman who died of Ebola. Burial was scheduled for this afternoon.

What will happen at the burial?

The ministry of health is handing over body management to the Red Cross. This is one of the first bodies they're going out to do, so there's a whole bunch of people [who will be at the burial], it may turn into a bit of a mob scene. And there's a lot of anger in the community, there's a potential that family members might not be happy that such a large group of people are showing up at the burial.

What's fueling that anger?

There's been a lot of frustration and lack of understanding among the community about the need to not touch the body. Traditional burial would include washing the body by hand. So there's been some tension when the health teams come in telling people they're not allowed to touch the body, and that the body has to be zipped up in a body bag and disposed of by people in Hazmat suits.

Goats and Soda

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