Kevin Warsh, economics fellow at the Hoover Institution and lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Management, speaks at the Thorne Investment Conference in New York City, USA, on May 8, 2017.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
The market got what it wanted.
Investors held their breath when President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. Markets took comfort in Mr. Warsh’s central bank experience (he served from 2006 to 2011, during the height of the global financial crisis) and the recognition that he would not always be at the mercy of President Trump.
“Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Fed Chairman is exactly what the market expected, as he is well known to market participants as a solid figure and is expected to maintain the central bank’s independence, which is important to the market,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners.
of USD That trend intensified following President Trump’s announcement, which signaled the market’s approval of Warsh’s credibility and autonomy.
However, risk assets decreased. Major U.S. indexes closed lower on Friday due to weakness in tech stocks. spot gold Losing about 9%, spot silver Both precious metals, seen as safe-haven assets to hedge against U.S. volatility, continued their decline through the weekend, falling 31.4% in their worst day since March 1980.
Virtual currencies also plummeted, Bitcoin As of 7:45 a.m. Singapore time (6:45 p.m. ET), the stock was trading near $77,250, its lowest since April.
In other regions, policy and politics are moving rapidly.
India on Sunday announced the Union Budget for 2026. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government expects the fiscal deficit and debt-to-GDP ratio to come down and plans to encourage manufacturing across several sectors. Separately, President Trump said on Saturday that India would buy Venezuelan crude in exchange for some Russian crude, Reuters reported.
Elections will be in the spotlight in Asia over the coming week. Both Thailand and Japan are scheduled to go to the polls on Sunday, with the results being closely watched by markets and policymakers.
What you need to know today
Kevin Warsh explained. Warsh, who served at the Fed from 2006 to 2011, played a key role in designing and implementing programs to stabilize credit markets. But Mr. Warsh emerged from this era as a critic of the Fed.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he is “confident” the government shutdown will end by Tuesday. He added that he believed he had the votes to end the partial government shutdown by Tuesday.
AstraZeneca expands stateside The move comes days after the company announced a multibillion-dollar investment in China. The company wants closer ties with the United States, its largest market, but is attracted to China’s innovation-friendly environment.
Major U.S. indexes fell on Friday; S&P500 It was the third consecutive day of losses, but it was still an increase for January. Gold, silver and Bitcoin fell, while the US dollar rose. pan-european Stocks 600 Added 0.64%.
(PRO) Focus on Alphabet and Amazon’s earnings. In a busy earnings week, Google’s parent company plans to release results after the bell on Wednesday. morningAzons will go on sale after the market closes on Thursday. CNBC’s Fred Imbert breaks down what you can expect.
