* US and UK launch retaliatory air strike on Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen
* US government shutdown risk is rising ahead of Jan. 19 deadline
* China deflation persists: consumer prices fell for third straight month
* US credit card delinquencies rise to highest level since 2012
* Some firms on Wall Street block new bitcoin ETFs on their trading platform
* Hope for 2024 revival in value stocks springs eternal… again
* US consumer inflation’s 1-year change ticked up in December, but…
* Core CPI eased below 4% year-over-year for the first time since May 2021:

US housing costs continued to post the biggest impact on consumer inflation in December, but as Yahoo Finance reports: “There seem to be some hopeful signs in the latest data, experts said.” Meanwhile, “On a year-over-year basis, shelter inflation remained high — up 6.2% over the last year. The optimistic take: that’s lower than November’s 6.5% year-over-year figure and March’s peak of 8.2%.” Omair Sharif, president of Inflation Insight, predicts: “We’re on the cusp of another step down in shelter inflation.”