NOTHING COSTS MORE...:

Productivity Is Revised Higher, Easing Fears of Wage Inflation (BRIAN BLACKSTONE, September 4, 2008, Wall Street Journal)

U.S. productivity soared during the second quarter while labor costs fell, revised government figures showed, reflecting a mix of employment declines and export-generated economic growth.

The data suggest Federal Reserve officials can be patient and hold interest rates steady as they assess economic and inflation risks, since high energy prices aren't igniting the kind of wage-price spiral that plagued policymakers in the 1970s and early 1980s.