US services activity declined for the first time in more than 2 and a half years in December as demand weakened, with more signs of inflation easing. Meanwhile, some of the biggest US banks, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, will kick off the fourth-quarter earnings season on Friday and may give clues on whether earnings estimates for the calendar year were cut enough. Investors will be awaiting the highly anticipated US CPI December data on Friday. ANZ forecasts core inflation to have risen by 0.4 per cent, compared to November, and headline CPI to be flat. If proven correct,…