The most important economic report in the week ahead is the US December Consumer Price Index on January 12. To be sure, the Federal Reserve targets an alternative measure, the deflator of personal consumption expenditures. However, in this cycle, when households, businesses, investors, and policymakers are particularly sensitive to inflation, CPI, which is reported a couple of weeks before the PCE deflator, has stolen the thunder. In explaining the surprise acceleration to 75 bp rate hikes in the middle of last year, Fed Chair Powell cited the CPI (and the preliminary results of an inflation expectations survey ... (full story)