And while the most recent data shows that inflation remains below the Fed's 2% target rate -- it came in at 1.6% in October -- the trend in consumer prices is heading in the right direction as well. This is the variable, in turn, that investors in JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup should watch most closely. The higher inflation goes, the more likely the Fed is to raise rates and thereby boost the amount of money that each of these banks earns from their multibillion-dollar portfolios of loans and securities.