1. Inflation ticked higher in December due to housing, fuel costs
Inflation edged up in December thanks largely to higher housing and energy costs, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index rose 3.4% in December from a year earlier, slightly more than economists had expected and up from November's 3.1%. Core inflation, excluding volatile fuel and food costs, fell slightly to 3.9% year-on-year, just above estimates but below 4% for the first time since May 2021. Inflation dropped by nearly half in 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported, while inflation-adjusted wages grew a robust 0.8%. The inflation declines in previous months fueled hope the Federal Reserve would soon start cutting interest rates, but December's data underscored the challenges to getting inflation down to the central bank's 2% target. The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press
2. Hertz to sell 20,000 EVs, buy more gas cars
3. Stock futures slip ahead of more inflation data
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