EQUITIES: US Cash opening calls

Around three-quarters of the 0.08pp slowdown in core CPI slowdown in December (to 0.23% M/M from 0.31% prior) can be attributed to the deceleration in core goods (to 0.05% from 0.31%). See table below.

•  Core services' slight deceleration (to 0.27% from 0.28%) also helped, with the unexpected drop in hotel prices and slowdown in medical services helping to offset the acceleration in housing plus airfares (which had almost an equal upside effect despite housing's vastly larger CPI basket weighting).
• Outside of the most closely watched categories for which we have consensus, a few of the larger ones of note that largely came in on the soft side, possibly helping explain the modest downside "miss" for core CPI:
• Apparel (2.5% of total CPI basket, rose 0.1% vs 0.2% prior), new vehicles (3.6% of CPI, rose 0.5% vs 0.6% prior) and medical care services (6.5% of CPI, rose 0.2% vs 0.4% prior) pulled back vs Nov (And for PCE purposes: dental services fell 0.2% M/M, a 4-month low, after +0.5% prior).
• Household furnishings/operations (4.4% of CPI) came in at 0.0% vs 0.6% prior.
• We also note that alcoholic beverages (0.8% of CPI), which are part of core goods, saw their softest print in 12 months (-0.3%).
• Not slowing sequentially but still contributing to the core softness was communication (3.2% of CPI), deflating for a 5rd consecutive month, albeit at a lesser rate, at -0.1% vs -1.0% prior.

Federal Councillor Viola Amherd has announced that she will be standing down from office on 31 March. Amherd held the Defence, Civil Protection and Sport portfolio within the seven-member Federal Council, Switzerland's unique joint head of gov't and hailed from the Christian democratic 'The Centre' party. Her replacement will be elected during the Federal Assembly session in March. Amherd joined the Federal Council in 2019 and last year served as the president of the Swiss Confederation. 

• In a press conference, Amherd claimed that her resignation was down to her long tenure saying "After more than thirty years of active politics, including more than twenty-five years in an executive function, it is time to make way for new blood,". However, the timing of her announcement has garnered attention after the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP) called on Amherd to quit at its party conference only days ago. The SVP claimed that Amherd's focus on gender issues in the armed forces clouded other pressing issues, and that allowing the provision of weapons to Ukraine risks Switerland's long-standing policy of neutrality.
• Last week The Centre party leader Gerhard Pfister announced that he would be standing down in June after 9 years in charge. Amid this resignation he is now seen as the most likely candidate to fill Amherd's soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Federal Council. Parties gain or lose seats in the Council depending on their representation in the Federal Assembly. The Centre currently holds a single seat. 

Call buying continues as underlying continues to extend post-data rally (TYH5 108-06.5 +27). First projected rate cut back to July now with June nearly there.

• 13,000 TYH5 109 calls, 32 ref 108-05, total volume over 23,000
• over 9,700 TYH5 110 calls, 16 last ref 108-04.5
• 11,000 TYG5 106/107 put spds 4 ref 108-03.5