Shortly after the conclusion of the simulation, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernake told congress that he believed that inflation was slowing, which sent stocks higher, since it might signal the end of interest rate increases. Although this is good news, I still worry about inflation. Energy prices are still very high, and raw material prices are at their highest levels in years (metals in particular), because of increased demand from developing countries, particularly China. The prices of copper and aluminum are so high that in the mid-west, copper and aluminum items (such as copper pipes at a construction site) are being stolen to sell for scrap. Against this background of rising raw material costs, inflation seems almost inevitable.