Topic #1: US Inflation in line with expectations

What happened

The latest data indicates that inflation in the United States decelerated in December, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded a 6.5% increase compared to the previous year. Notably, this marks the sixth consecutive month of decline in inflation. Furthermore, the increase in prices was more narrow-based, with only 52% of the components rising in price, as opposed to 60% in November. When focusing on core inflation, which excludes more volatile items such as food and energy, the data shows a rise of 5.7% from the same period in the previous year, which is in line with expectations. However, one of the Federal Reserve’s preferred indicators, known as core services (excluding shelter) remained unchanged at 6.4%. This measure is often used as a proxy for wage growth, and it is notable that many of its components increased in December....