Interest rates likely headed higher, too.
Tuesday was a good day for inflationistas. According to the latest release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index ticked up 0.2 percent in December. The more telling stat, however, was the year-over-year inflation rate - 2.3 percent. December's number was the third straight monthly hike in the benchmark and takes urban inflation to its highest level in a year.
Clairvoyants and savvy traders could have foretold this spike months ago by watching the price trajectory of inflation-protected bond ETFs. Case in point: The market-leading