US inflation continued to slow in December, adding to evidence price pressures have peaked and putting the Federal Reserve on track to again slow the pace of interest-rate hikes.
According to Bloomberg Economics, the labor market is cooling but only very gradually. That pace is too slow to stop inflation from spreading to various sectors.
During the last week of the year, there was not a lot of activity on Wall Street.
The biggest challenge the Fed faces is psychology. What Chairman Powell and his colleagues fear the most is that inflationary expectations will become entrenched by households and businesses.
But since nobody knows when that is in advance, that just raises the probability of missing the start of the next bull market. Being nervous in tumultuous markets is just a symbol of being human. Responding with panic, however, is a sign of not having the right plan.