A digger sits at the construction site of the Federal Reserve headquarters, after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat to bring a lawsuit against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over Powell's management of renovations of the building, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 12, 2026.
The current moment feels like the finale of a reality TV show, when the world learns who the winner of the competition is. This time, the victor won't be walking away with $1 million — but influence the $112 trillion world economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will announce his pick for the next chair of the Federal Reserve on Friday morning stateside. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is by far the favorite, according to prediction market Kalshi — and an administration source told CNBC that Warsh was at the White House on Thursday.
At the same event where Trump made those comments — on the sidelines of the premier of the "Melania" film — he also warned the U.K. that it would be "very dangerous" for the country to do business with China, Reuters reported. This came as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was visiting China, where the two sides reached deals on tariffs, visa-free travel and business investment, according to Downing Street.
Markets were busy processing more than politics. On Thursday after the bell, Apple reported a 16% year-on-year jump in its fiscal first-quarter revenue on "staggering" iPhone demand, topping market estimates. It also forecast current-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations.
Investor response, however, was tepid, with Apple shares rising about 0.5% in extended trading. That could be because Apple still appears behind the curve for artificial intelligence. Investors seemed more enthused about Meta Platform 's AI prospects, driving shares more than 10% higher. Microsoft , on the other hand, was punished for its spending plans and slowdown in cloud growth. Its stock slumped 10%, wiping out $357 billion in market cap in its worst day since March 2020.
That divergence weighed down the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite , which declined 0.72%. The S&P 500 fell a 0.13%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend to climb 0.11%
On Friday, the risk-off mood spread. Precious metals and cryptocurrencies fell alongside U.S. equities: spot gold declined over 4% and bitcoin continued its overnight slide to touch its lowest level in nearly two months.
— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Garrett Downs contributed to this report.