Money Minute Tuesday 14 January: US bank results and inflation

published 14 January 2020

Good morning and welcome to Money Minute, where we preview the day's biggest financial stories. In the US this afternoon, investment banking giant JP Morgan kicks off fourth-quarter earnings season for the sector. JP Morgan has consistently been a strong performer and analysts expect that to continue. Fellow banks Citigroup and Wells Fargo also report their figures.

Meanwhile, on the economic front, we get consumer price inflation for December. Prices for US consumers are expected to have risen by around 2.3% on last year. That’s a little above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. However, the US central bank has made it clear that it is comfortable with tolerating a period of above-target inflation. The Fed argues that because inflation has spent so long below target, they should be willing to allow the economy to run a little “hot” to make up for it. It’s basically just an excuse to keep interest rates low. So unless inflation comes in well above expectations, the market is unlikely to react badly.