A miner sits on a construction site at the Federal Reserve Headquarters after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat to sue Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over his management of the building’s renovations, January 12, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
This moment feels like the finale of a reality show, where the world finds out who the winner of the competition is. This time, rather than taking home $1 million, the winner will have an impact on the $112 trillion global economy.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will announce the selection for the next Federal Reserve Chairman on Friday morning. According to prediction market Calci, former Federal Reserve President Kevin Warsh is the clear favorite — and administration officials told CNBC that Warsh was at the White House on Thursday.
Trump made the comments on the sidelines of the premiere of his film “Melania,” at the same event where he warned Britain that it would be “very dangerous” for the country to do business with China, according to Reuters. The move came during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China, where the two countries reached an agreement on tariffs, visa-free travel and business investment, Downing Street said.
Markets were busy dealing with more than politics. On Thursday after the bell, Apple reported that “tremendous” demand for the iPhone led to a 16% year-over-year increase in first-quarter sales, beating market expectations. He also predicted that sales for the current quarter would exceed Wall Street expectations.
But investors’ reaction was lukewarm, with Apple shares up about 0.5% in after-hours trading. That may be because Apple is still behind the curve when it comes to artificial intelligence. Investors appear to be more enthusiastic meta platform‘s AI outlook drove the stock price up more than 10%. microsoftOn the other hand, it was punished for its spending plans and slowing cloud growth. The company’s stock price fell 10%, wiping out $357 billion in market capitalization in its worst day since March 2020.
This difference weighed on technology-focused companies. Nasdaq Compositedown 0.72%. of S&P500 Although it fell by 0.13%, Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.11% bucked the upward trend
A risk-off mood prevailed on Friday. Precious metals and cryptocurrencies fell along with U.S. stocks, with spot gold down more than 4%. Bitcoin The stock continued to decline overnight, hitting its lowest level in nearly two months.
—CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
Denmark praises talks with the US over Greenland. Copenhagen’s foreign minister on Thursday welcomed “very constructive” high-level talks on Greenland’s future, saying talks on the island were “back on track”.
Mr. Trump sued the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department. In Thursday’s lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking at least $10 billion in damages for the alleged leak of confidential tax information. Plaintiffs include Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
A new plan to increase consumer spending in China. The Chinese government on Thursday announced a work plan to boost consumption of services, from cruise and yacht tourism to expanded sporting events, as policymakers seek to increase consumption as a share of the economy over the next five years.
US stock indexes almost fell due to Microsoft. But on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose even more. Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Friday. hong kong Hang Seng Index It retreated nearly 2%, leading the region’s losses.
(PRO) Russia and China control key metals. It is essential to the development of military equipment, and one American company is working on a replacement. The company’s rating was changed to “buy” after the investment bank initiated coverage.
And finally…
World’s largest sovereign wealth fund made $247 billion in 2025, driven by rise in technology and banks
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund posted annual profits of 2.36 trillion kronor ($246.9 billion) on Thursday. Throughout 2025, the fund returned SEK 13.5 trillion. This is the highest annual return since the fund’s inception in the 1990s.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) manages the Fund on behalf of Norwegian citizens. “Technology, financials and basic materials stocks stood out and contributed significantly to overall returns,” NBIM CEO Nikolai Tangen said in a statement Thursday.
— Chloe Taylor
