But with Japan floundering in the swamp of stagnation, with Europe under severe austerity, and with China applying the monetary breaks to cut the air off to its real estate bubble, inflation remains low and receding.

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Economic prosperity and lower inflation have enabled more Brazilians to travel by air.

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But by letting some air out of the bubble sooner, the impact on inflation and output when it bursts is more modest.

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One wonders what color the air would be at the next policy meeting had the MPC been persuaded to address untamed inflation in light of recent reports confirming ailing economic health.

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Alcohol duties and air duty will be frozen - but tobacco tax will go up by two percentage points above inflation.

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Stealth inflation was occurring, too, as anyone knew who opened a box of cereal containing more air than flakes.

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