Justice department opens investigation into Jerome Powell as Trump ramps up campaign against Federal Reserve
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank.Powell said the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Senate banking committee in June last year, regarding renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC.The US attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Powell over the project, and whether Powell lied to Congress about its scope, the New York Times reported on Sunday.Allies of Trump spent months last year accusing the Fed of mishandling the multibillion-dollar renovations.Trump had repeatedly threatened legal action.
In a blistering statement on Sunday, Powell argued he had been threatened with criminal charges because the Fed had set interest rates “based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president”.Trump has repeatedly blasted Powell and the Fed for declining to bow to his demands for rapid rate cuts, and launched an aggressive campaign to curtail the central bank’s longstanding independence – and exert greater control over its decisions.The Trump administration has already installed a close ally of the president on to the Fed’s powerful board of governors, and sought to fire Lisa Cook, a governor appointed by Joe Biden, over unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud.The US attorney’s office inquiry, which includes an analysis of Powell’s public statements and an examination of spending records, was approved in November by attorney Jeanine Pirro, the NYT reported, citing officials briefed on the situation.In a statement on Sunday evening, Powell insisted the legal threat was “not about” his testimony last summer, or congressional oversight of the Fed.
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions – or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” he said.“I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike,” Powell added.“In every case, I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor, focused solely on our mandate of price stability and maximum employment.“Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats.I will continue to do the job the Senate confirmed me to do, with integrity and a commitment to serving the American people.
”Contacted for comment, the White House deferred to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment,Gold and silver surged to record highs as markets reacted to Powell’s announcement; gold vaulted toward $4,600 an ounce and silver approached $85 for the first time,Powell, initially appointed by Trump, and reappointed by Biden, has chaired the Fed since 2018,His term as chair is due to expire in May – at which time Trump’s chosen successor can take his place – although Powell can remain on the Fed’s board of governors until 2028,As US inflation surged to its highest level in a generation after the pandemic, the Fed scrambled to raise interest rates in 2022 and 2023 – ultimately lifting them to their highest level in two decades – in a bid to cool the world’s largest economy.
While the central bank had started to cut rates by the time Trump returned to office last year, he publicly called on Powell to move faster.Lower rates can stimulate economic growth – and Trump had repeatedly promised a new golden age for the US economy on his watch.But Fed officials, including Powell, grew cautious.Trump’s economic agenda, including the erratic rollout of sweeping US tariffs on goods from across the world, clouded the outlook.They wanted to tread carefully – and did so, repeatedly opting to hold rates steady, and defying the president’s demands for drastic cuts.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy,” Powell said on Sunday,“No one – certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve – is above the law,But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,”
UK business confidence weakened and hiring fell at end of 2025, surveys find
UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025 and hiring fell amid rising costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to key business surveys.Contrasting with the prime minister’s optimistic new year message that the country was about to start feeling richer again, the jobs market weakened, with full-time and temporary appointments falling in December, according to a study by the accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).Jon Holt, the group chief executive of KPMG, said: “The jobs market at the end of 2025 was still signalling caution. After a long stretch of rising cost pressures and higher global economic uncertainty, many firms continue to pause hiring and are flexing where they can by using temporary staff.“As we head into the new year, this restraint is likely to remain in the near term
3,000 jobs at risk unless MoD signs helicopter order, sources say
The UK’s last military helicopter factory must land a long-awaited order from the Ministry of Defence within the coming weeks to secure about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, industry sources suggest.Skilled workers at Leonardo Helicopters – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – fear the company will follow through on threats to close the facility at the end of March, if the UK military fails to place an order for new helicopters by that time.Leonardo was the only bidder for the UK’s £1bn “new medium helicopter” contract that was launched in February 2024, but delays in awarding the deal seem to have put the future of the factory at risk.The bid’s “best and final offer” expires in March. One source close to the process suggested the company needed to be told it had been awarded the deal by January if it was to meet the contract’s various deadlines
Are a record number of mom and pops going bankrupt? Kinda but not really | Gene Marks
Are mom-and-pop stores going bankrupt at historically high levels? That would seem to be the impression you’d get from recent news reports referencing data released from Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics, a provider of legal services that specializes in bankruptcy services.Uh-oh! Some have seen this as proof that Donald Trump’s policies are bankrupting Main Street. Well, no, not quite.It is true that, according Epiq’s data, there were 2,221 filings for bankruptcy protection under a special provision for small businesses of the bankruptcy code – subchapter V – that was created for this purpose back in 2019. And it is true that the number of filings increased last year
Game On: the Swiss sports brand using hi-tech and chutzpah to challenge Nike and Adidas
A robot leg whirs around in a complex ballet as an almost invisible spray of “flying fibre” builds a hi-tech £300 sports shoe at its foot.This nearly entirely automated process – like a sci-fi future brought to life – is part of the gameplan from On, the Swiss sports brand that is taking on the sector’s mighty champions Nike and Adidas with a mix of technology and chutzpah.The brand is expanding rapidly after teaming up with the former tennis pro Roger Federer to create shoes suitable for the Swiss star’s sport and a mix of fashion-led collaborations including with the luxury brand LOEWE, actor Zendaya and singers FKA twigs and Burna Boy. In China, sales have doubled year-on-year. Growth has been strong in the US and mainland Europe and this month On will open its fourth London store, in Kensington
Trump move for Venezuela’s resources likely to weaken economic might of US | Heather Stewart
The word “loot” entered the English language from Hindi in the late 18th century, as the rapacious East India Company plundered its way across the subcontinent.It was a trading company, not a state – but it had the imprimatur of the English crown and its own large private army, mingling commerce and military force and opening the way for British imperial dominance of India.Donald Trump’s dead-of-night raid on Venezuela last week was the act of a government, not a corporation. But it harked back to a more brazen age, when looting a continent for its resources at the point of a cannon was regarded as a legitimate activity for an English gentleman.The US president made no effort to disguise the fact that the main motivation for the snatching of Nicolás Maduro was taking control of Venezuelan oil reserves on behalf of the fossil fuel companies that helped bankroll Trump’s re-election
Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn latest banking boss in line for huge bonus hike
Lloyds Banking Group boss, Charlie Nunn, could be in line for a maximum annual pay packet worth more than £13m, as he becomes the latest boss to benefit from the UK’s controversial decision to lift a cap on banker bonuses.The bank’s remuneration committee has begun drafting a new three-year executive pay policy that, for the first time, will take advantage of looser pay rules that have sent potential payouts soaring at rival banks.That includes Barclays, where chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, was handed a 45% rise in maximum pay last year, giving him the chance to be paid up to £14.3m if he hits important business targets. HSBC similarly offered a 43% increase to boss Georges Elhedery, for a maximum payout of about £15m
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