Inflation is an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole.(source: economics.about.com )

The automatic adjustment of an economic variable, such as wages, taxes, or pension benefits, to a cost-of-living index, so that the variable rises or falls

A reduction in the value of a currency with respect to those goods, services or other monetary units with which that currency can be exchanged.

In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflation)

A credit crunch is an economic condition in which investment capital is difficult to obtain. Banks and investors become wary of lending funds to corporations,