US Dollar:
1. Trump claims to be unaware of the Justice Department's investigation into the Federal Reserve. Other reports suggest that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Pulte is behind the investigation.
2. Wall Street tycoon Bill Ackman: The Fed may abandon its 2% inflation target and instead set it in the 2.5%-3% range.
3. JPMorgan Chase no longer predicts a Fed rate cut in 2026, but instead expects a 25 basis point rate hike in the third quarter of 2027.
4. Barclays: Expects the Fed to cut rates by 25 basis points each in June and December, down from previous forecasts of March and June.
5. Goldman Sachs Chief Economist: The Fed is expected to continue making data-driven decisions and not be biased by investigation pressure.
6. US media: Trump will interview BlackRock executive Rick Reid this week for the Fed chairmanship.
7. Fed's Williams: The economic outlook for 2026 is quite favorable. Monetary policy is now closer to a neutral stance.
8. Sources familiar with the matter: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Robert Piro, has no intention of halting the investigation into Powell.
Japanese Yen:
1. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama: He has held bilateral talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessenter. He expressed Japan's concerns about the unilateral depreciation of the yen to Bessenter.
2. Japanese government spokesperson: Expressed concern about unilateral and sharp exchange rate fluctuations. Japan is prepared to take appropriate measures to address excessive exchange rate volatility.
3. Former Bank of Japan policy board member Makoto Sakurai: A weak yen may prompt the central bank to raise interest rates as early as April.
4. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi: Intends to dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of the parliamentary session scheduled to begin on January 23.
Other:
1. Reuters poll: All economists surveyed said the Bank of Korea will keep its benchmark interest rate at 2.50% in January.
2. South Korea is considering issuing foreign exchange stabilization bonds as early as January to replenish its foreign exchange reserves.
3. Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced the formation of a new seven-member Monetary Policy Committee.
4. ECB Governing Council member Mueller: There is no reason for further interest rate cuts in the short term.
