Weekend briefing: Clear signs the US economy is losing momentum

(In December the Household data rose an impressive +717,000 from November on the same seasonally-adjusted basis as the Establishment data. This reinforces the fact that the momentum in the American labour market is slowing, and the Fed will take heart from that. At the same time, American inflation is biting households. It is also a good result for them, and like the Americans, both their participation rate rose and their jobless rate fell. From the prior month, inflation is slowing fast, running at an annualised -4.2% deflation rate now.