The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, May 31, edition that the prices of oil, transportation, food ingredients and other raw materials have fallen in recent months as the shocks stemming from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have faded. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe reports that even still, many big businesses have continued raising prices at a rapid clip. Some of the world's biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future. That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. As well, it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices. As a result, some economists warn, policy makers at the U.S. Federal Reserve may feel compelled to keep raising interest rates, or at least not lower them, increasing the likelihood and severity of an economic downturn. Corbu economist Samuel Rines, however, believes the go-to rationales for elevating prices are now receding. PepsiCo and McDonald's have recently taken hits to their share prices as traders fear that they may not be able to keep increasing their profits.