What we’re reading (1/15)
“Powell Investigation Upends Final Stretch Of Fed Chair Contest” (Wall Street Journal). “The criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell threatens to upend the contest over whom President Trump will choose to succeed him as it enters its final stretch. The episode is creating new obstacles on Capitol Hill and raising hard questions about whether any nominee can be seen as independent—tension that was always present but is now much harder to ignore. Trump has made clear he prizes loyalty in his pick, but the Justice Department probe—which Powell said was part of a pressure campaign to get the Fed to lower interest rates—threatens to make that quality a liability.”
“Understanding Long-Term Winners In Emerging Markets” (Larry’s Substack). “Emerging markets have long captivated investors with their promise of rapid economic growth and diversification benefits. However, despite this allure, the reality has been sobering: since the 2008 global financial crisis, emerging market equities have underperformed U.S. equities by almost 10% annually. MSCI’s Anil Rao and Rohit Gupta, authors of the study ‘Long-Term Investing in Emerging Markets: Identifying Drivers of Total Shareholder Return in Emerging Market Equities,’ published in the Winter 2025 issue of The Journal of Investment Beta Strategies, dug into this puzzle, uncovering why some companies thrived while the broader market struggled.”
“Investors Should Not Be Barred From Buying Homes” (Issues & Insights). “The true portion of single-family homes owned by these “plunderers,” those holding 1,000 or more properties, is in reality much lower than 4%. They ‘make up just 2% of all investor-owned homes,’ says CNBC. Ninety percent of the market is actually under the ownership of small investors who have ‘10 properties or less.’”
“Stagflation In 2025. Overheating In 2026.” (Torsten Slok). “In 2025, we worried that the trade war and immigration restrictions would lead to stagflation. With those headwinds fading, the list of tailwinds keeps growing, and we are starting to worry about overheating in 2026. The bottom line is that there are significant upside catalysts to growth and inflation over the coming quarters[.]”
“Did Iran’s Currency Collapse? Rial Plummets To ‘0.00’ Against Euro While Inflation & Protests Escalate Across The Country” (The Sunday Guardian). “In a major blow, the Iranian currency, the rial, has effectively lost its value in Europe, dropping to zero against the euro. As a result, the rial can no longer be exchanged across European countries, further isolating Iran from the global financial system. Inside the country, the situation has deteriorated sharply, with ordinary citizens struggling to afford even basic necessities.”
