Soft CPI Gives the Fed Cover & Relief Rally

CPI dropped to 3.5% and stocks bounced, but we think the celebration is premature — it's still well above target and mostly driven by oil prices rolling back. Bank earnings were a mixed bag: Goldman Sachs up 9% on record trading, JP Morgan posted record profit, but Citi fell 5%. We break down why the trading desks are carrying these numbers and what it means for the sector.The bigger story: retail margin lending has ballooned to $1.4 trillion, fund managers have almost no cash to buy a dip, and put volumes are at the floor. We explain why that setup makes us short-term cautious and what we're doing about it for clients — including a structured investment that caps downside while keeping upside exposure through a look-back entry mechanism.Plus: gold and copper bouncing, crude pulling back, TSMC guidance tomorrow, and why the ASX should have a decent day off the back of bank earnings and commodity strength.