US Stocks closed marginally lower yesterday after reports China tariffs will remain until after 2020 election.
 
JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, while Wells Fargo fell well short of profit forecasts.  JPMorgan and Citigroup stock’s rose while Wells Fargo stock sold off.
 
Higher prices for gasoline, health care and rent spurred another increase in the cost of living in December, capping off the biggest annual advance in inflation in eight years. But price pressures more broadly remained largely muzzled.  The consumer-price index rose 0.2% last month.  The increase in the cost of living in the past 12 months rose a few ticks to 2.3%.

Small-business owners' confidence in the U.S. economy declined in December, though owners benefited from strong consumer spending as well as federal tax and regulatory relief, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.  The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index's December reading was 102.7, down two points from the prior month. The NFIB survey is a monthly snapshot of small businesses in the U.S., which account for nearly half of private-sector jobs

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I'm Tyler Simones