Business

The December import price index report from the BLS showed a modest deterioration at the headline level: declining by 1.20% this was fractionally better than the expected decline of -1.40% however a notable drop from last month's -0.50%. While most of the December decrease was attributable to falling fuel  prices, nonfuel prices continued to trend down as well, with Import prices ex-fuels dropping 0.3% (after falling 0.2% in Nov), suggesting the rest of the world continues to export substantial deflation to the US.

A combination of ECB minutes showing some members looking for more stimulus and Basel Committee publishing final risk rules which will mean stiffer capital demands from banks has sparked weakness in EUR (sending the USD higher) and sparking and instant slam-down in gold and silver.

So this:

• *ECB ACCOUNTS SHOW SOME MEMBERS ARGUED FOR MORE STIMULUS IN DEC.

Yay - some is better than none! Vague hope.

And this:

• Islamic State launches militant assault on Indonesia's capital (Reuters)
• Three winners emerge in $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot (Reuters)
• European Stocks Tumble, Credit Markets Weaken on Growth Concern (BBG)
• Stocks and commodity currencies floored by new oil plunge (Reuters)
• China Bear Market Looms as PBOC Fails to Stop Flight to Safety (BBG)
• Anxious phone calls, tense moments before Iran's Supreme Leader okayed U.S. sailors' release (Reuters)
• The Quiet Side of China’s Market Intervention (WSJ)

There were four things we mostly cared about in today's JPM earnings release, the first Wall Street bank to report Q4 results:

In the wake of yet another dramatic selloff on Wednesday which brought the Dow to the brink of correction territory and kept the market on pace for its worst start to a year in history, investors are getting worried.

A confluence of factors including the continued devaluation of the yuan, plunging oil, and soaring HY risk have brought markets to the precipice and the bears are out in force, with the likes of Albert Edwards calling for a horrific 75% plunge in the S&P.