The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it meets in the coming week, holding firm despite President Donald Trump's pressure to slash levels as it guards against threats to its independence.

The last time U.S. inflation was below 2%, Tom Brady was the reigning Super Bowl MVP as a member of Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Inflation is still stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, as shown by the consumer price index for December, which was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday morning. Overall inflation was up 0.3% from November to December; it rose 2.7% from the same time last year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released CPI inflation data which showed that consumer prices rose at a steady pace in December as inflation remained well above the Fed's target.

In November, annual inflation fell from 3% in September to 2.7%, in part because of quirks in November’s data. (The government never calculated a yearly figure for October). Most prices were collected in the second half of November, after the government reopened, when holiday discounts kicked in, which may have biased November inflation lower.

For a century, economists have taught us to fear falling prices. But the deflation phobia stems from a misreading of the Great Depression. Bitcoin exposes the myth.