Wednesday's News Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold Hits Record Above $5,300 as Trump Dollar Comments Aid Rally

[CNBC] S&P 500 climbs ahead of Fed decision, major tech earnings: Live updatess

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Trump’s Embrace of Weaker Dollar Fuels Bets on New Downtrend

[AP] Federal Reserve may keep rates unchanged for months as economy shows signs of health

[MSN/WSJ] Trump Has Four Finalists to Run the Fed. None of Them Are Exactly What He Wants.

[MSN/Reuters] For Fed, Uptick in Bank Lending May add to Case Against Rate Cuts

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Rick Rieder’s Donations to MAGA Rivals Tests Trump’s Fed Chair Demands

[CNBC] Mortgage demand drops 8.5%, as interest rates swell to the highest level in 3 weeks

[Axios] Companies rush to refinance as credit looks good

[Reuters] A year into Trump presidency, 'pivot to China' gathers pace

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Chinese Silver Fund Halts Trading as Frenzy Drives Up Premium

[Axios] Trump warns Iran "time is running out" for talks, threatens "far worse" attack

[AP] A month after Iran protests began, worry pervades Mideast over possible US strike

[Politico] Mark Rutte is on collision course with European capitals over NATO

[Politico] ‘It’s not like the SS are coming’: Italy bids to quell ICE furor before Winter Olympics

[Bloomberg] Trump’s Embrace of Weaker Dollar Fuels Bets on New Downtrend

[Bloomberg] Pentagon Official Visits Japan as US Seeks More Defense Spending

[Bloomberg] China’s Four-Year Energy Spree Has Eclipsed Entire US Power Grid

[NYT] Fed Meeting Comes at Pivotal Moment for Central Bank’s Independence

[NYT] What to Watch as the Federal Reserve Meets

[NYT] A Municipal Debt Boom Is Driving Public Projects and Tax Breaks for Investors

[WSJ] Trump Has Four Finalists to Run the Fed. None of Them Are Exactly What He Wants.

[WSJ] These Are the 12 Fed Officials Who Will Vote on Interest Rates This Year

[WSJ] These Billion-Dollar AI Startups Have No Products, No Revenue and Eager Investors

[WSJ] BOJ Officials Signal More Caution on Yen Risk to Inflation

[WSJ] The Deflation Doom Loop Trapping China’s Economy

[WSJ] Australia Inflation Pressure Stokes Rate-Hike Speculation

[WSJ] Key Gulf Allies Say They Won’t Aid U.S. in an Iran Strike, Limiting Trump’s Options

[FT] Investors bet on ‘hot’ US economy heading into midterm elections

[FT] Swiss franc surges to decade high as traders seek last ‘reliable’ haven

[FT] Trump warns Iran ‘time is running out’ for deal to avert US military action

[FT] Nato without America: Europe ‘thinks the unthinkable’

[FT] Xi Jinping’s purge of top general sends China’s military into uncharted waters

Tuesday Evening Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 futures are little changed ahead of Fed decision, major tech earnings: Live updates

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold Climbs to Record Over $5,100 as Debasement Trade Picks Up 

[AP] Bitter cold grips the eastern US as winter storm deaths rise and power outages linger

[CNBC] The Fed releases its latest interest rate decision Wednesday. Here’s what to expect

[CNBC] The market thinks BlackRock’s Rick Rieder will be the next Fed chair. Here’s what’s at stake

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Bond Traders Target Dovish Fed Pick as Rieder’s Momentum Builds

[CNBC] The government is barreling toward a partial shutdown over DHS funding. Here’s what to expect

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Lawmakers in Talks to Avoid Partial US Shutdown, Thune Says

[AP] Americans’ confidence in the U.S. economy falls sharply in January to lowest level since 2014

[Yahoo/Reuters] Trump says value of the dollar is 'great'

[Axios] Scoop: Blame game erupts over Trump team's false claim Alex Pretti sought "massacre"

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] US Trade Spat With South Korea Driven by Tech Laws, Gridlock

[Bloomberg] Gold Holds Gains as Trump Comments Add Fuel to Debasement Trade

[Bloomberg] Rubio Says US Ready to Use Force to Ensure Venezuela’s Cooperation

[NYT] Microsoft Pledged to Save Water. In the A.I. Era, It Expects Water Use to Soar.

[WSJ] Dollar Extends Slide After Trump Says He Isn’t Worried About Declines

[WSJ] Health Insurers in Shock After Medicare Holds Line on 2027 Payments

[WSJ] Canada’s Carney Tells Trump ‘I Meant What I Said’ in Davos

[WSJ] U.S. Warns Korea Against Targeting American Tech Firms Amid Trade Escalation

[WSJ] Trump Warns Iraq Against Reinstalling Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister

[FT] Dollar slides as Trump says he is not concerned with its recent decline

Tuesday Afternoon Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 closes at a record Tuesday as tech giants rally: Live updates

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Dollar’s ‘Relentless’ Slide Has Traders Bracing for More Pain

[Yahoo/Reuters] Key prediction market putting strong odds on BlackRock's Rieder as next Fed chair

[AP] Carney rolls his eyes at US Treasury secretary, says he told Trump he meant what he said at Davos

[CNBC] Homebuyers are backing out of deals at the fastest pace in nearly a decade

[MSN/WP] Immigration Crackdown Slow US Population Growth

[Yahoo Finance] All the biggest trade deals so far in 2026 don't involve the US

Tuesday's News Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 rises ahead of this week’s Big Tech earnings: Live updates

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Dollar Sinks to Lowest Level in Four Years as US Risks Grow

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold Extends Gains Above $5,000 as Debasement Trade Gathers Pace

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Power Grid for 67 Million on Edge as Dire Cold Follows Storm

[AP] Fed expected to keep rates unchanged as Chair Powell pivots back to economics

[Axios] "Show me the AI money" this tech earnings season

[AP] Top US trading partners pledged to invest $5 trillion in America. These researchers have doubts.

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Goldman Says Market Most Risk-On Since 2021 on Global Growth

[Axios] "It was a mess": Inside Trump's pivot on Minnesota

[Reuters] World's 'middle powers' de-risking from America

[Reuters] India, EU reach landmark trade deal, tariffs to be slashed on most goods

[Bloomberg] Odds Are Rising That Another Winter Storm Will Pummel US East Next Week

[Bloomberg] Carney calls Trump’s tariff threats bluster ahead of US-Canada free trade talks

[Bloomberg] Top US Grid Gets OK to Divert Data Center Power to Households

[Bloomberg] TACO Tracking: Trump Carries Out One in Four Tariff Threats

[Bloomberg] Bond Wipeout Threatens Japan Property Fundraising as REITs Slump

[Bloomberg] Venezuela’s Spectacular Bond Rally Runs Into a $170 Billion Reckoning

[Bloomberg] China’s Retreat From Africa Lending Turns It Into Debt Collector

[Bloomberg] Japan’s Takaichi Details Possible Response to Taiwan Crisis

[NYT] Fed, Signaling Little Urgency, Prepares to Pause on Rate Cuts

[NYT] Record Debt in the World’s Richest Nations Threatens Global Growth

[WSJ] Fed Set to Pause Rate Cuts, With No Clear Path to Resuming

[WSJ] Risk of a Partial Government Shutdown This Weekend Is Rising. Here’s Why.

[WSJ] Trump Threat on South Korea Jolts Trade Partners Who Thought They Had Deals

[WSJ] Stung by Trump, America’s Top Trading Partners Cozy Up to China

[WSJ] Rapid Buildup of Chinese Military Fuels Corruption Scandals

[FT] Big Tech’s borrowing spree raises fears of AI risks in US bond market

[FT] Private credit firms sell debt to themselves at record rate