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BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | JAN 13, 2026

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US Fed chairman says targeted by federal probe

WA S HI N GTO N : Google on Sunday unveiled a new iteration of its professional Gemini AI suite geared toward online retail, seeking to create seamless interactions for shoppers from product searches to customer service. Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX) will “use complex reasoning to understand intent and execute multi-step tasks on behalf of a customer taking into account their preferences and consent”, Google said in a statement. It will also enable users to shop and interact with customer service without leaving the Google application. As consumers continue using the tool, they will be offered products reflecting their preferences from companies that have adopted Google’s new protocols. The online search giant said it has already signed agreements with prominent US franchises such as Papa John’s pizzerias, Lowe’s home improvement stores, and supermarket mega-chains Walmart and Krogers. “We’re working together to personalise every interaction, simplify every decision, and remove friction within customer touchpoints,“ said Kevin Vasconi, Papa John’s chief digital and technology officer. Walmart said the tool would help it offer products best suited to its customers’ needs, more regularly converting product searches into sales. “We want to help customers get what they need and want, when and where they want it,” said John Furner, incoming president and CEO of Walmart, promising “seamless shopping experiences ... that are more intuitive and personal than ever before”. Google and its partners made the announcement as the annual conference of the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, got underway in New York. Meanwhile, British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said yesterday customers in the United States, its largest market, will be able to use AI platforms to search for and purchase its products. In the US, the group trades from over 2,500 stores across the JD, DTLR, Shoe Palace and Hibbett brands and also trades online. It makes over 40% of its global sales in the US. Starting with Microsoft’s Copilot and later extending to Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, customers in the US will be able to find and buy sports footwear, apparel and accessories from JD using the AI platforms. JD said it has partnered with commercetools, a digital commerce platform provider, and financial infrastructure firm Stripe to provide the service which connects AI-driven searches to secure checkout and payments. “Today’s announcement is an important step into the next era of online shopping and positions JD to be ahead of the curve as the global retail industry embraces AI,” said Jetan Chowk, JD’s chief technology & transformation officer. – Agencies Google’s Gemini seeks edge in AI for online shopping

serve the public, rather than fol lowing the preferences of the President,” Powell said. He branded the “unpre cedented action” part of the “administration’s threats and ongoing pressure”. The Fed, which makes inde pendent monetary policy decisions, has a dual mandate to keep prices stable and unemployment low. Its main tool in doing so is by setting a key interest rate that influences the cost of borrowing across the economy, while its board members typically serve under both Republican and Democratic presi dents.

Trump has consistently press ured Powell and the central bank to move faster in lowering interest rates, in a breach of the long standing independence of the institution. Trump on Sunday denied any knowledge of the Justice Depart ment’s investigation into the Federal Reserve. “I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” NBC quoted Trump saying. Senators from both sides of the aisle blasted the investigation. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,” Republican Thom Tillis said. “I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed – including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy – until this legal matter is fully resolved,” he added. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called the probe an assault on the Fed’s independence. “Anyone who is independent and doesn’t just fall in line behind Trump gets investigated,” Schumer said. Powell’s term as chairman of the Federal Reserve ends in May, and Trump told Politico in an interview last month that he would judge Powell’s successor on whether they immediately cut rates. The US president has openly spoken about ousting Powell but stopped short of doing so, and focused instead on cost overruns for renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters. In July, the cost of the Fed’s facelift of its 88-year-old Washington headquarters and a neighbouring building was up by US$600 million from an initial US$1.9 billion estimate. That same month, Trump made an unusual visit to the construction site during which the two men, clad in hard hats, bickered over the price tag for the makeover. – AFP

o Powell : Move is part of Trump’s pressure campaign on monetary policy decisions

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on Sunday that US prosecutors have opened a probe into his comments to lawmakers and threatened an indictment, a move he said is part of President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on monetary policy decisions. Powell added in a statement that the bank received grand jury sub poenas on Friday, “threatening a

criminal indictment” related to his Senate testimony in June, which concerned a major renovation project of Federal Reserve office buildings. He dismissed the possible threat of indictment over his testimony or the renovation project as “pretexts”. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will

Trump, Republican Senator Tim Scott and Powell during the president’s tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is undergoing renovation, in Washington last year. – REUTERSPIC

Australia announces critical minerals for its A$1.2b reserve MEL B OU RN E: Australia will prioritise antimony, gallium and rare earth elements as part of its A$1.2 billion (RM3.3 billion) strategic reserve, it said yesterday, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to join a G7 meeting to discuss critical minerals. Australia and several other countries are joining a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies in Washington this week on the subject, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said over the weekend. The group last June agreed on an action plan to secure their supply chains and boost their economies. Australia, among the world’s leading producers of critical minerals, has been developing a strategic reserve to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities which it plans to make available to allies. “The world needs critical minerals – Australia has plenty of them and our critical minerals reserve will help us weather global economic uncertainty and help to boost trade and investment,” Chalmers said. “The Reserve will operate by securing rights to minerals produced in Australia and on-selling those rights to meet demand, giving an added boost to Australia’s critical minerals sector and strengthening reliable supply chains for our trading partners,” it said. Australia plans to introduce legislation that will expand the powers of its export finance agency (EFA) and the department of industry, which will oversee reserve-related transactions, Minister for Resources Madeleine King told a press briefing in Perth. she said, which are those set for future delivery of physical supply. It will also manage offtake agreements and intermediary demand and supply aggregation, as well as stockpiling and contracts for difference, King said. Contracts for difference are a tool that helps manage price risk from when a contract begins, to when it is delivered. Australia signed an agreement with the US in October aimed at countering China’s dominance in critical minerals.

The reserve, originally targeted for launch by mid-2026, will be operational by year-end, King said. The EFA will enable offtake agreements with fixed or floating prices trading in forward contracts,

Most of the G7, which includes the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada – with the European Union also taking part – are heavily dependent on rare earths supplies from China.

It included an US$8.5 billion project pipeline and leverages Australia’s proposed strategic reserve, which will supply metals that are vulnerable to disruption. – Reuters

The first minerals in focus are crucial for clean energy and high-technology manufacturing as well as advanced military equipment, the treasurer’s office said.