In the long arc of the Federal Reserve's battle against inflation, July's consumer price data arrived as a quiet but meaningful turning point — not a triumph, but a pause in the anxiety. Core prices rose at their slowest annual pace since early 2021, and markets across equities and bonds responded with the measured relief of those who had been bracing for worse. The moment reminds us that in monetary affairs, the absence of bad news can itself become a form of good news, even as the horizon still holds its uncertainties.