Wall Street Brunch: Bank Earnings, CPI And Credit Card Crackdowns

Group 1: Earnings Season and Expectations - Major banks are set to report Q4 earnings this week, with JPMorgan leading the way on Tuesday, followed by BofA, Wells Fargo, Citi on Wednesday, and Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock on Thursday [3] - Analysts expect JPMorgan's Q4 EPS to be $4.98 on $46.25 billion in revenue, which includes $25 billion of net interest income [4] - The performance of JPMorgan's earnings report could influence sector rotation, with potential for equal-weighted indexes to perform well if earnings dispersion is indicated [4] Group 2: Economic Indicators - The December Consumer Price Index (CPI) is anticipated to show a 0.3% month-on-month increase, with headline inflation expected to remain at 2.7% year-on-year and core CPI rising to 2.7% from 2.6% [6] - Economists predict that distortions from the November report due to shutdowns will unwind, with core goods expected to rise sharply in December due to holiday-related markdowns [7] Group 3: Credit Card Interest Rate Proposal - President Trump proposed a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, effective January 20, aiming to protect consumers from high rates [8] - Major banking groups opposed the proposal, arguing it could push consumers towards less regulated and more costly alternatives [8] Group 4: Dividend Payouts - AT&T and Verizon are set to go ex-dividend on Monday, with payouts scheduled for February 2, while Comcast and Abbott Labs will follow with their own ex-dividend dates [9] Group 5: Short Selling Performance - U.S. short sellers experienced approximately $217 billion in year-to-date mark-to-market losses, with a return of -14.75%, contrasting with a gain of over 16% for the S&P 500 [10] - Notable underperformers among shorted stocks include Nvidia, Alphabet, Tesla, Palantir, and Micron, while MicroStrategy, The Trade Desk, Charter Communications, Circle Internet, and UnitedHealth showed positive results [10]