One of the largest single influences on the level of interest rates is inflation. There are a number of sites that report inflation over time. Go to ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt and review the data available. Note that the last columns report various averages. Move these data into a spreadsheet using the method discussed in the Web exploration at the end of Chapter 1.
a. What has the average rate of inflation been since 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009?
b. Construct the table about these average rates of inflation using Excel;
c. Construct the line graph about the average inflation rates found in part (a)?
d. Which year had the lowest level of inflation? Which year had the highest level of inflation?