jan 14  welcome to the home for realtime coverage of markets brought to you by reuters reporters you can share your thoughts with us at marketsresearchthomsonreuterscom a torrent of data was released on market participants like a pack of dobermans on friday chock full on mostly unpleasant surprises which provided fresh reminders that us consumers and the economy are still being dogged by omicron hot inflation and a tangled supply chain receipts and us retailers usrsleci unexpectedly dropped by 19 last month according to the commerce department read more analysts expected a flat reading linebyline the decline was broad based with nonstore retailers which includes online and catalog and department stores suffering the biggest declines tumbling by 87 and 70 respectively the causes of this unpleasant surprise are largely interrelated spiking covid cases kept shoppers at home wile pandemicrelated supply issues kept goods scarce and prices high december was a rough month for the american consumer writes anu gaggar global investment strategists at commonwealth financial network between higher prices empty shelves consumers sick from omicron and holiday shopping pulled forward retail activity declined even more than expected and november numbers were also revised lower additionally many consumers  in reaction to those supply challenges  seem to have started their holiday shopping earlier than usual benefiting the october number at decembers expense core retail sales which strips out autos gasoline building materials and food services and is the closest proxy for the personal consumption component of gdp posted an even bigger unexpected drop plunging by 31 that is particularly dour news considering the fact that the consumer shoulders about 70 of us economic growth speaking of the consumer attitudes have been following mercury levels lower this month the university of michigans preliminary take on january consumer sentiment usumspeci delivered a print of 688 below the even 70 consensus attitudes regarding the current situation edged lower but pessimism regarding near term expectations did the most damage inflation weighed heaviest on consumers minds in the opening weeks of 2022 with near and longterm inflation expectations heating up to 49 and 31 respectively while the delta and omicron variants certainly contributed to this downward shift the decline was also due to an escalating inflation rate writes richard curtin chief economist with umichs surveys of consumers threequarters of consumers in early january ranked inflation  as the more serious problem facing the nation the prices americans pay for imported goods usimpeci also defied consensus by inching 02 lower in december according to the labor department read more the falling cost of petroleum prices was largely responsible for the decline adding another voice to the growing chorus that the stubbornly persistent inflation wave which has moved the federal reserve to shorten its timeline for tightening its covidera monetary policy is at or past its peak however mahir rasheed us economist at oxford economics also expects import prices should begin to unwind in q2 with energy prices moderating and domestic demand cooling as the fed pivots to tightening monetary policy despite the december decline the series remains hotter that other major indicators all of which continue to cruise at an altitude far above the feds average annual 2 inflation target another unwelcome surprise arrived courtesy of the federal reserves industrial production usipeci report which showed output unexpectedly slipped by 01 in the last month of 2021 manufacturers disappointed even more with factory output dropping 03 in defiance of the 05 growth economists projected we expected a soft headline because wamerthanusual weather reduced demand for heating energy and natural gas extraction plunged by 79 says ian shepherdson chief economist at pantheon macroeconomics but the softness in manufacturing is disappointing and it cant all be blamed on the ongoing supply problems in the auto sector where production fell 13 capacity utilization uscapueci also zagged where it was expected to zig inching nominally lower to 765 instead of rising to 77 even so capacity use a measure of economic slack remains slightly above where it was just before a global health crisis threw a monkey wrench into the works taken together the feds report is a stark reminder of the sorry state of the global supply chain which continues to limp along under the weight of booming demand scarcity of materials and lack of workers lastly in more ancient news the value of goods in the store rooms of us businesses usbinveci increased by 13 in november bucking the trend by hitting the expectations bulls eye the commerce department data bodes well for fourth quarter economic growth hinting that private inventories contribution could stay out of the negative column where it sat in the first half of 2021 the data wolves along with a mixed set of big bank earnings from jpmorgan chase jpmn citigroup cn and wells fargo put investors in a selling mood in morning trading read more all three major us stock indexes were red with cyclicals and economically sensitive transports djt down the most some of the biggest us banks kicked off earnings season on friday with a sickening thud for investors with jpmorgan jpmn tumbling 48 and citigroup cn down 24 after their reports only wells fargo shares were in demand with a 14 gain the sp 500 bank index spxbk was last trading down 20 on the day after hitting an intraday record high in the previous days session it ended up thursday 104 so far for 2022 after rising 323 in 2021 while jpmorgan  the largest us bank that is a barometer of the economys health  beat wall streets expectations even as it reported a 14 profit decline due to a slowdown in trading which offset a stellar performance in investment banking trading revenue fell 13 while investment banking revenue surged 28 thanks to a bumper deal year read more ubs analyst erika najarian wrote in a note ahead of the conference call that jpms slides show its outlook for 77 billion in expenses is 6 above consensus this does not fit the beat and raise narrative investors have for banks in 2022 she said citigroup reported a 26 slump in fourthquarter profit on friday as it took a hit from higher expenses and weakness at its consumer banking unit read more however wells fargo beat analyst profit estimates in the quarter as a rebound in us economic growth encouraged more customers to take loans and the bank kept a tight lid on costs read more still the news made investors anxious about other big banks due to report results next week with morgan stanley msn falling 26 and goldman sachs gsn off 24 stock futures on wall street traded lower on friday after us retail sales dropped in december instead of staying flat and banking results at the start of earnings seasons failed to provide a reason for budging the riskoff sentiment retail sales fell 19 after rising 02 in november the commerce department said while economists polled by reuters had forecast retail sales unchanged shares of jpmorgan chase  co jpmn slid after it posted a 14 decline in fourthquartre earnings due to a slowdown in the companys trading arm but results sailed past analysts estimates on stellar results from its investment banking unit read more citigroup cn also slid after the the bank reported a 26 drop in quarterly profit but the company exceeded market expectations as strong gains in its investment banking business cushioned the blow from higher expenses read more but shares of wells fargo  co gained in premarket trade after posting a greaterthanexpected rise in fourthquarter profit read more futures for the dow industrials  sp 500 and the nasdaq were all down about 08 prior to the opening bell for fridays live markets posts prior to 0900 est1400 gmt  click here nl8n2tu3im