Good morning.
BREAKING: Justice Department just opened a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell confirmed it himself in an unusual video statement Sunday night. Markets are rattling, futures are down, and the Fed's independence is suddenly front and center.
And another huge headline: President Trump is pushing a 1-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, far below the average of 23.79%. It’s already dragging credit stocks way down.
In today’s edition:
9 credit stocks at risk if the 10% interest rate cap goes through
The top 8 potential IPOs of 2026 (not just OpenAI)
December jobs badly missed their forecast last week
Gold and silver hit brand-new all-time highs this weekend
No time to lose. Let’s get started.
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📰 Market Headlines
US stock futures tumbled Sunday night after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Dow futures slipped 0.4%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped 0.7%.
President Trump floated a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10% via a social media post, claiming Americans have been "ripped off" by credit card companies. The announcement provided no legislative details or actual bill, prompting Democratic lawmakers to call it "meaningless without action." However, Capital One (COF) shares fell 10% on the news, Citigroup (C) shares fell 4%, and several other credit stocks fell as well.
If the 10% interest rate cap goes into effect, here are the 9 stocks AltIndex thinks are most at risk →
Powell confirmed the DOJ probe himself, saying the Justice Department served grand jury subpoenas threatening indictment over his Senate testimony related to the Fed's headquarters renovation.
Powell called it retaliation for setting interest rates based on the Fed’s best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of President Trump.
The pressure from Trump on Powell is unprecedented. The Fed has operated independently of political pressure since the Treasury-Fed Accord of 1951. That independence is what allows the central bank to make unpopular but necessary decisions, like raising rates to fight inflation even when the president wants cuts.
2026 is shaping up to be huge in terms of potential IPOs. Names include not just OpenAI and SpaceX but Databricks, Canva, and more. Here’s a list of the top 8 potential IPOs of 2026 (and their likely timings).
Weak December jobs data missed expectations, with nonfarm payrolls rising just 50,000, badly missing the 66,000 forecast. Unemployment edged down to 4.4%. Traders are now pricing in at least two Fed rate cuts in 2026, with CME FedWatch data showing 95% odds the Fed holds rates steady at its next meeting.
Gold spiked past $4,600 per ounce and silver hit $84.60 on weak jobs data, the clash between Trump and Powell, and demand from escalating geopolitical tensions.
Big bank earnings kick off this week, with JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley all reporting in the coming days. Tuesday brings the December CPI report, a critical inflation read that could shape Fed expectations.
😱 Fear & Greed Index
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🤖 AI/Future/Tech News
Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey using his company’s AI helmet that gives soldiers Ironman-like vision.
Indonesia and Malaysia banned Grok after Musk's chatbot flooded X with non-consensual sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
🪙 Crypto
Iran's Revolutionary Guard moved $1 billion through UK crypto exchanges since 2023, with IRGC transactions making up 56% of platform volume in USDT on Tron.
Coinbase may pull support for the Senate's crypto bill if it restricts stablecoin rewards, a $1.3 billion revenue stream in 2025, ahead of Thursday's markup vote.
🤫 Insider Trading
📈 IPOS and Earnings
🎙 Make yourself heard
Do you use credit cards or not?
🎤️ What you said last time
🧠 The Missing (Market) Links
This 29-year-old American makes $140,000/year, living in Bahrain, renting a 3-bed home with a pool for $2,200/month while working EST hours remotely.
Oil jumped nearly 6% in two days as Iranian protests threaten supply from OPEC's fourth-largest producer; Brent climbed toward $63.
US-born unemployment rose to 4.1% from 3.7% over the past year, even as 881,000 foreign-born workers left the labor force.
📜 Quote of the Day
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Brandon & Blake of Invested Inc
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