Ever since the Federal Reserve signaled last fall that it was likely done raising interest rates, Wall Street traders, economists, would-be homeowners — pretty much everyone — began obsessing over a single question: When will the Fed start cutting rates? But now, with the U.S. economy showing surprising vigor, a different question has arisen: Will the central bank really cut rates three times this year, as the Fed itself has predicted — or even cut at all? A blockbuster March jobs report reinforced the notion that the economy is managing quite nicely on its own. Employers added a huge burst of jobs — more than 300,000 — and the unemployment rate dipped to a low 3.8%.

Many Americans are in a sour mood about the economy for one main reason: Prices feel too high. Maybe they’re not rising as fast as they had been, but average prices are still painfully above where they were before the pandemic. And they’re mostly heading higher still. Wouldn’t it be great if prices actually fell — what economists call deflation? Who wouldn’t want to fire up a time machine and return to the days before the economy rocketed out of the pandemic recession and sent prices soaring? Many economists caution that consumers should be careful what they wish for. Falling prices across the economy would actually be an unhealthy sign.

Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as Easter and Passover approach. The cost of filling a basket or completing a Seder plate reflect a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. While global prices are lower than they were at this time last year, they remain elevated. A senior global specialist with Dutch financial services firm Rabobank doesn’t expect them to return to 2021 levels. One major culprit is avian flu. In 2022 alone, more than 131 million poultry worldwide died or were culled on farms affected by the disease. Higher chicken feed costs due to weather and inflation have also impacted egg prices.