31/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | JAN 31, 2026

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What are the top challenges awaiting next Fed chair? Analysts expect Trump’s pick will be more likely to push for lower rates. could remain a governor until 2028.

Amazon in talks to invest up to US$50b in OpenAI SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon is in talks to invest dozens of billions in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and the figure could be as high as US$50 billion (RM196 billion), a source told Reuters on Thursday. The discussion is still in the early stages and the final numbers have not been finalized, the source said. Big Tech companies and investors such as SoftBank Group Corp are racing to forge partnerships with OpenAI – which is spending heavily on data centres – betting that closer ties with the artificial intelligence (AI) startup would give them a competitive edge in the AI race. OpenAI is looking to raise up to US$100 billion in funding, valuing it at about US$830 billion, Reuters reported on Tuesday. SoftBank Group is in talks to invest as much as an additional US$30 billion in the startup. OpenAI, which signed a US$10 billion computing deal with Nvidia challenger Cerebras earlier this month, is laying the groundwork for an IPO that could value it at up to US$1 trillion, Reuters has also reported. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is leading the negotiations with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to the Wall Street Journal , which first reported the development. Investing up to US$50 billion could make Amazon the biggest contributor to the AI company’s ongoing fundraising round. Amazon is also an investor in Anthropic, having invested about US$8 billion in the company, recently valued at US$183 billion. Anthropic, which has emerged as a major rival to OpenAI due to the strong adoption of its services by enterprise customers, has forecast that it will more than double and potentially nearly triple its annualized revenue run rate in 2026 to around US$26 billion. Amazon declined to comment, while OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters when contacted. Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft are also in talks to invest up to US$60 billion in OpenAI, the Information reported on Wednesday. Nvidia, an existing investor whose chips power OpenAI’s AI models, is in talks to invest up to US$30 billion, while Microsoft, a long-standing backer, is in talks to invest less than US$10 billion. – Reuters

o Trump’s pick will face an early test balancing inflation risks and a slowing jobs market WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is set to announce his pick to chair the Federal Reserve yesterday, setting up a key shift in the central bank’s leadership. Powell’s chairmanship ends in May, and the next chief will need to establish credibility despite political pressure, while walking a policy tightrope between curbing stubborn inflation and supporting a weakened jobs market. The frontrunners for the job are former Fed official Kevin Warsh, Fed governor Christopher Waller, Rick Rieder of BlackRock and Trump’s chief economic adviser Kevin Hassett. What are the biggest tests awaiting Trump’s nominee? 0 Credibility Trump has drastically escalated his targeting of the US central bank, trying to reshape its leadership by moving to fire a Fed governor while calling repeatedly for interest rates to be slashed. His Justice Department also launched an investigation into Powell over renovations at the Fed’s headquarters, in a move that Powell warned could threaten Fed independence.

0 Forging consensus Within the bank, the Fed chair is seen to have an outsized influence on forging consensus among the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) as well. The FOMC’s 12 voting members take majority votes to decide on interest rate adjustments, and observers will be monitoring if the next chief can unite officials to back further rate cuts. The Fed has seen deepening divisions recently as some policymakers seek lower rates to boost the economy and shore up a labour market they view as fragile. But others have pushed back on rate cuts amid inflation worries, as Trump’s tariffs flow through supply chains and raise the costs of certain goods. 0 Political pressure The new Fed chair will also have to contend with a president who has relentlessly criticized their predecessor and made no secret of his preference for much lower interest rates. Trump has already said that he would judge his choice on whether they immediately cut rates. At a speech to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, Trump said of the contenders for the chairmanship: “They’re saying everything I want to hear.” “They get the job, and all of a sudden, ‘Let’s raise rates a little bit,’” he added. “It’s amazing how people change once they have the job.” “It’s too bad, sort of disloyalty,” Trump said. – AFP according to the report. “Supply chain smoothness is one of the key challenges for this year, and the marketing strategy change also played a part in the decision (to prioritize premium models),“ an executive at an iPhone supplier with direct knowledge of the plan told Nikkei Asia . Apple on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue, driven by strong iPhone demand and a sharp rebound in China, with CEO Tim Cook telling Reuters that demand for the latest handsets was “staggering.”

But this also means it will be tougher for the new leader to establish credibility and convince investors of the bank’s independence, said Michael Strain of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “A new Fed Chair may want to hold off on rate cuts for at least one meeting to reassure financial markets,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk wrote in a recent note. 0 Senate confirmation Trump’s nominee to head the Fed must also undergo Senate confirmation, and will likely face tough questioning from lawmakers even as the president’s Republican party holds a Senate majority. Already, Republican Thom Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, vowed to oppose the confirmation of any Fed nominee – including the next chairman – until the probe against Powell is resolved. Other Republican lawmakers, like Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have spoken up against the investigation too. The top Democrat on the banking committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren, has meanwhile accused Trump of wanting to push Powell off the Fed Board altogether and “install another sock puppet” to complete his takeover of the central bank. For now, a wildcard is whether Powell remains as Fed governor after his four-year term as chairman ends, preventing Trump from influencing the board’s composition further. Most chairmen leave when their terms expire, but they do not have to – and Powell

Apple to prioritise premium iPhones in 2026 BENGALURU: Apple is prioritizing production and shipment of its three highest-end iPhone models for 2026 while delaying the rollout of its standard model due to a marketing strategy shift and supply-chain constraints, Nikkei Asia reported yesterday, citing four people with knowledge of the matter. first-ever foldable iPhone and two non-folding models with upgraded cameras and larger displays for a flagship launch in the second half of 2026, while the standard iPhone 18 is now slated to ship in the first half of 2027, the report said.

The move is aimed at optimizing resources and maximizing revenue and profits from premium devices amid rising cost of memory chips and materials, and to minimize production risks tied to the more complex industrial techniques for Apple’s first foldable device,

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment outside regular business hours. The US tech giant will focus on delivering its

Bitcoin falls amid Fed chair uncertainty SINGAPORE: Bitcoin slumped to a two-month low yesterday as speculation the next chair of the US Federal Reserve might tighten up on cash in the financial system hit cryptocurrencies and lifted the dollar. intensifying speculation that former federal reserve governor Kevin Warsh was about to be anointed as Trump’s pick to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Wilson Sydney. Ether also skidded to a two month low and traded 2.9% lower at US$2,735.48. Asset Management in

Cryptocurrencies have been struggling for direction since last year’s tumble and have been left behind by big rallies in gold and stocks that, on occasion, they had tracked. Sean Dawson, head of research at Derive.xyz, a crypto options trading platform, said some correlation remains and that “fears around AI exuberance” were also a “big contributor” to yesterday’s selloff. A 10% drop in Microsoft stock after it reported a massive AI spend but only a modest revenue beat sent a tremor through global markets overnight. – Reuters

Warsh has called for regime change at the central bank and wants, among other things, a smaller Fed balance sheet. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been regarded as beneficiaries of a large balance sheet, having tended to rally while the Fed greased money markets with liquidity – a support for speculative assets. “As you start to talk about pulling the rug out from underneath that ... all the hedges against balance sheet expansion that people have been going for – gold, crypto, obviously bonds start to sell a little bit,“ said Damien Boey, portfolio strategist at

Cryptos are having a rough time in what was once hoped to be a golden era of flows and friendly regulation under President Donald Trump, with the market-leading bitcoin losing a third of its value since striking record highs in October. It traded 2.5% lower yesterday at US$82,300 (RM323,059), extending the previous session’s drop and heading towards a fourth straight month of losses, its longest losing streak for eight years. Selling gathered pace on

Bitcoin extended its longest losing streak in eight years as Fed leadership speculation rattled crypto markets. - UNSPLASH PIX