Flattening yield curve unleashes blow to Fed hike hype

US equity markets are gradually confronting the reality that a 2015 Fed hike is out not feasible after US durable goods orders tumbled 3.4% in December after a 2.1%, undershooting expectations of a 0.3% rise. The 11.6% increase in December new home sales was not enough to reverse the market sell-off, which was initiated by disappointing earnings from Caterpillar (-7.1%) and Microsoft (-9.6%) due to slowing global growth and negative impact from the strong US dollar. And what about the sign from the flattening US yield curve?

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