File: Bottles of drinks for sale in Publix Grocery Store. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Don Vultaggio, the chairman and co-founder of AriZona Beverages – the maker of 99-cent iced tea – declared on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" Thursday that right now he has "no intention" of raising prices even with inflation accelerating to four-decade highs.Vultaggio told host Neil Cavuto.
that "consumers deserve a break." RISING FOOD COSTS POUNDING SHOPPERS' WALLETS; 'NO CHOICE' BUT TO INCREASE PRICES: GOYA CEOThe Labor Department said earlier this month that the consumer price index (CPI) – which measures a bevy of goods including gasoline, health care, groceries and rents – rose 8.5% in March from a year ago, the fastest pace since December 1981, when inflation hit 8.9%.
Prices jumped 1.2% in the one-month period from February, the largest month-to-month jump since 2005.Price increases were widespread: Energy prices rose a stunning 11% in March from the previous month, and are up 32% from last year.