Jerome Powell is angry... Trump vs. the Fed chair... What their battle means for your money... Stealing the show at CES this year... Eric Wade's report... Stansberry Investor Hour: 'Compounding Quality' joins us...
 New year, new Jerome Powell...
For years, the Federal Reserve chair was asked to respond to personal or policy criticism from President Donald Trump. And for all that time, Powell bit his tongue. It seems Powell has had enough... or, at least, he draws a line at the threat of criminal charges. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand-jury subpoenas. The Justice Department threatened a criminal indictment related to Powell's statements last summer about renovations to the central bank's office building. Trump has previously said that cost overruns on this project are a reason to fire the Fed head, whom he has repeatedly criticized over interest-rate policy. Sometime between being served and Sunday night, Powell decided to respond. To Powell, the indictment threat was just another way of trying to intimidate him into lowering interest rates. To him, it crossed an important line. Powell got ahead of the story by breaking news with his own account in a video update on Sunday night. The Fed published the video on social media and its website. In it, Powell said... I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. 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. This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress's oversight role... The Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president. 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. Digest readers know we like to criticize the Fed and its often-erroneous decision-making. And the idea that a central bank can or should control the direction of an entire $30 trillion economy strikes us as arrogance. But it's hard to argue with Powell in the context of this series of events. This dustup has been a long time coming... It really dates back to Trump's first term, when he fired off more than a hundred criticisms of the Fed chair on Twitter and stumped for lower rates. That seems quaint now. We've been saying for over a year that we expected Trump to ramp up pressure on Powell to lower rates – "let the palace intrigue begin," we wrote on November 7, 2024. And the president has been looking for a way to remove Powell before his term as chair is up in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly talked Trump out of trying to fire Powell, the president has admitted. And since Powell said in November 2024 that firing the Fed chair is "not permitted under the law," as we reported at the time, he'd fight his dismissal. Along those lines today, three former Fed chairs, several former Treasury secretaries, and other notable economists hurriedly published a joint statement on Substack to defend "Fed independence." Last night, Trump told NBC News he wasn't involved in the Department of Justice subpoenas. "I don't know anything about it," Trump said. While that raises questions, it's probably more useful to look past the drama: What's it all mean for the market? In the short term, probably somewhere between "not much" and "more of the same" – for now. Neither the major U.S. stock indexes nor Treasury yields moved significantly today... but gold did. It hit a record high above $4,600 per ounce and gained around 2%. The "chaos hedge" wins again. Silver continued its blistering run as well, gaining roughly 7% today to a new record. The part that's worth your time... When Powell's time as chair is finished (in May), a lot of investors are expecting Trump to install a new Fed head who will bend to his wishes for lower rates no matter what. At that point, we'll face the knock-on consequences of that. On the one hand, lower rates can juice stock prices in the short term – particularly for companies that don't turn a profit or otherwise borrow a lot of money. But lower rates could also mean more inflation, a weaker dollar (good for foreign stocks, as our Director of Research Matt Weinschenk writes), and a weakening status of U.S. fiscal governance. As we've written before, inflation is already running close to 3% by "official" standards (and higher depending on what gauges you're looking at) rather than the Fed's supposed 2% goal. The case for lower rates would be stronger if the labor market continues to weaken. But if the jobs market stabilizes this year and the Fed cuts rates anyway with inflation near 3%, high(er) inflation expectations could return to the market again and create volatility. Until May, we suspect Powell will try to be as business-like as possible. He'll follow his own cautious instincts on rates and defend "Fed independence" when he thinks necessary, like he did last night. And we suspect the drumbeat for his removal and lower rates from the White House will continue from Trump. None of this is new, but the story doesn't appear to have an end in sight. All we see is more of a push for "easier money" from the Fed and a weaker dollar. The "Mar-a-Lago Accord" for a weakened U.S. dollar is at work, and the case for hard assets and non-U.S. stocks is growing every day. Inside CES 2026... Last week, we briefly mentioned some of what was being seen and heard at the annual CES electronics show in Las Vegas... These include the prevalence of AI, plus a lollipop that plays music while you eat it (though the addressable market for that innovation seems relatively small). We've got some more substantial insight to point you toward today... Two of our colleagues – Crypto Capital editor Eric Wade and Stansberry's Investment Advisory lead editor Whitney Tilson – were among the more than 140,000 attendees in Vegas for the show last week. Today, we point you toward Eric's insights. Tomorrow, we'll share Whitney's. Eric recapped his experience for subscribers in his regular Friday video update. Existing Crypto Capital subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members can watch or listen to his full report here. Unsurprisingly, Eric said AI was "everywhere," and he found examples of how it's being embedded in workflows, machines, and systems across industries. AI glasses are getting a lot of backing and a disturbing amount of push, he noted. Robotics was also prevalent, Eric says: "I didn't see many humanoid theatrics, but rather narrow, task-specific machines built for deployment." Quantum computing also had a strong presence and "featured less as a theory and more as a tool." He said... Projects are positioning it as an accelerator for AI workloads, optimization problems, and common enterprise-scale use cases. For instance, one company demonstrated room-temperature quantum servers, which is a conceptual leap worth paying attention to. What 'stole the show'... In his recap, Eric shares a variety of technologies and projects that he witnessed in Las Vegas. At one point, he quipped that if he "had a dollar for every time someone said LIDAR," referring to Light Detection and Ranging remote sensor tech, he could fund his own startup. But overall, the big deal was innovations in vehicles... Vehicles were everywhere. Land, air, and sea. Every imaginable combination of AI-designed components, AI-assisted systems, AI-assisted driving, varying levels of autonomy... sensors... What stood out is how much this vehicle space has really grown up. [There's] a lot less bravado, a lot more engineering. I would say maybe less full self-driving tomorrow – there was some of that – but a lot of mature, domain-specific autonomy. Some looked more like conventional vehicles, like robocars, SUVs, and Bobcat construction equipment. But many other "vehicles" on the floor at CES didn't fit the typical definition. For instance, Eric shared photos of a "conference room on wheels" from Hyundai. Other vehicles were autonomous, though maybe not for humans to ride in... but to move stuff around... 
Eric was also blown away by a battery technology – to power electric vehicles – that he says he was surprised didn't get more buzz. Oh, and there were blockchain and cryptos to talk about there "quietly. That's a good thing," Eric says. He explained why: "When crypto stops trying to be flashy and starts integrating, it becomes extremely durable." Boy, have we come far in just the past few years. Cryptos aren't the flashy thing anymore... That's all the other stuff that Eric saw is. And these are all sectors where worthwhile long-term investing opportunities can be found. Keep them on the radar. Eric is, both in Crypto Capital and his work with our Stansberry Innovations Report. "There are a couple things that just genuinely excited me. I will bring them to you," Eric said. "I may not remember 'this was from CES,' but they're coming. We'll talk about them. Some of them are inescapable." | | | | On last week's Stansberry Investor Hour, Pieter Slegers – founder of the Compounding Quality newsletter – joined the show... We discussed what a value investor should do with AI dominating the market today and the lengths he goes to do firsthand research... 
Click here to watch our entire interview on our YouTube page... or listen to the audio version on our website or wherever you listen to podcasts, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Audible. Just search "Stansberry Investor Hour" and subscribe to get more episodes when they go live. | | | | |
| Recommended Links: | |  What You Missed Last Week A 50-year Wall Street veteran – who called the COVID-19 crash, the 2022 bear market, and the 2023 bank panic – says a rare January "trigger" could determine whether 2026 is a wealth-building year for you or a devastating setback. It has 100% accuracy since 1950. Click here now for the full story (and TWO free stock recommendations). | |
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New 52-week highs (as of 1/9/26): Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), First Majestic Silver (AG), Altius Minerals (ALS.TO), Applied Materials (AMAT), ASML (ASML), Atmus Filtration Technologies (ATMU), Barrick Mining (B), BAE Systems (BAESY), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), CBOE Global Markets (CBOE), Century Aluminum (CENX), Pacer U.S. Cash Cows 100 Fund (COWZ), Donaldson (DCI), WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFJ), EnerSys (ENS), iShares MSCI Germany Fund (EWG), iShares MSCI South Korea Fund (EWY), Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD), Cambria Emerging Shareholder Yield Fund (EYLD), Fanuc (FANUY), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), SPDR Euro STOXX 50 Fund (FEZ), Franco-Nevada (FNV), Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield Fund (FYLD), VanEck Gold Miners Fund (GDX), VanEck Junior Gold Miners Fund (GDXJ), Genmab (GMAB), Alphabet (GOOGL), Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE), iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense Fund (ITA), Kinross Gold (KGC), Lincoln Electric (LECO), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Mueller Industries (MLI), VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat Fund (MOAT), New Gold (NGD), Annaly Capital Management (NLY), Royal Gold (RGLD), Roche (RHHBY), Robo Global Robotics and Automation Index Fund (ROBO), Skeena Resources (SKE), Snap-on (SNA), State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value Fund (SPYV), Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (U-U.TO), and Vanguard FTSE Europe Fund (VGK). In today's mailbag, more thoughts on nuclear energy... a version of a Digest that ran in DailyWealth over the weekend, headlined "The Federal Reserve Matters Less Than You Think"... and Dan Ferris' Friday essay... Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com. "I have the same concern as Charlie L. when it comes to using fission for nuclear energy. We hear about reviving mothballed nuclear power plants and SMRs, but never any discussion on nuclear waste. I realize that we need more energy and nuclear fission can help meet those needs. I would like to hear more about handling and disposing of the radioactive waste. "Thanks for your excellent coverage and the opportunity for readers to give feedback." – Subscriber Jack F. Corey McLaughlin comment: Thanks, Jack. As you note, you're not the only subscriber who wrote in wanting to know more about nuclear waste. We'll look to share research on it soon, including a recent chat I had with an engineer working on small modular reactors ("SMRs"). "Fear of nuclear waste has cost us many years of cheaper, cleaner energy. Once again, we must look to our ability to solve problems instead of shying away from them... I am sure people who are much smarter than me can figure this out if given the opportunity." – Subscriber Bruce I. "I disagree with your supposition that the Fed matters less than I think. From my days of studying Econ at Dartmouth College, I have always thought the Fed should be abolished for the good of our country!" – Subscriber S.T. "Dan, Thank you for the excellent 2026 summary written in the Stansberry Digest!" – Subscriber Ruth W. All the best, Corey McLaughlin with Nick Koziol
Baltimore, Maryland
January 12, 2026
Stansberry Research Top 10 Open Recommendations Top 10 highest-returning open stock positions across all Stansberry Research portfolios. Returns represent the total return from the initial recommendation. | Investment | Buy Date | Return | Publication | Analyst | MSFT
Microsoft | 02/10/12 | 1,545.7% | Stansberry's Investment Advisory | Porter | MSFT
Microsoft | 11/11/10 | 1,493.3% | Retirement Millionaire | Doc | ADP
Automatic Data Processing | 10/09/08 | 990.7% | Extreme Value | Ferris | BRK.B
Berkshire Hathaway | 04/01/09 | 789.0% | Retirement Millionaire | Doc | GOOGL
Alphabet | 12/15/16 | 709.4% | Retirement Millionaire | Doc | WRB
W.R. Berkley | 03/15/12 | 634.5% | Stansberry's Investment Advisory | Porter | ALS-T
Altius Minerals | 03/26/09 | 563.5% | Extreme Value | Ferris | AXP
American Express | 08/04/16 | 517.3% | Stansberry's Investment Advisory | Porter | AFG
American Financial | 10/11/12 | 492.2% | Stansberry's Investment Advisory | Porter | HSY
Hershey | 12/07/07 | 487.7% | Stansberry's Investment Advisory | Porter | Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any Stansberry Research publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio.
| Top 10 Totals | | 5 | Stansberry's Investment Advisory | Porter | | 3 | Retirement Millionaire | Doc | | 2 | Extreme Value | Ferris |
Top 5 Crypto Capital Open Recommendations Top 5 highest-returning open positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio | Investment | Buy Date | Return | Publication | Analyst | WSTETH/USD
Wrapped Staked Ethereum | 12/07/18 | 2,380.7% | Crypto Capital | Wade | BTC/USD
Bitcoin | 11/27/18 | 2,316.5% | Crypto Capital | Wade | ONE/USD
Harmony | 12/16/19 | 1,029.2% | Crypto Capital | Wade | QRL/USD
Quantum Resistant Ledger | 01/19/21 | 983.8% | Crypto Capital | Wade | POL/USD
Polygon | 02/26/21 | 660.9% | Crypto Capital | Wade | Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 5 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the Crypto Capital model portfolio. The buy date reflects when the recommendation was made, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if it's still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber and refer to the most recent portfolio.
Stansberry Research Hall of Fame Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all Stansberry portfolios | Investment | Duration | Gain | Publication | Analyst | | Nvidia (NVDA)^* | 5.96 years | 1,466% | Venture Tech. | Lashmet | | Microsoft (MSFT)^ | 12.74 years | 1,185% | Retirement Millionaire | Doc | | Inovio Pharma. (INO)^ | 1.01 years | 1,139% | Venture Tech. | Lashmet | | Rocket Lab (RKLB)^ | 2.35 years | 1,034% | Venture Tech. | Lashmet | | Seabridge Gold (SA)^ | 4.20 years | 995% | Sjug Conf. | Sjuggerud | | Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)^ | 16.13 years | 800% | Retirement Millionaire | Doc | | Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) | 1.95 years | 775% | Amer. Moonshots | Root | | Rite Aid 8.5% bond | 4.97 years | 773% | True Income | Williams | | PNC Warrants (PNC-WS) | 6.16 years | 706% | True Wealth Systems | Sjuggerud | | Maxar Technologies (MAXR)^ | 1.90 years | 691% | Venture Tech. | Lashmet | ^ These gains occurred with a partial position in the respective stocks.
* Editor Dave Lashmet closed the first leg of this Nvidia position in November 2016 for a gain of about 108%. Then, he closed the second leg in July 2020 for a 777% return. And finally, in May 2022, he booked a 1,466% return on the final leg. Subscribers who followed his advice on Nvidia could've recorded a total weighted average gain of more than 600%.
Stansberry Research Crypto Hall of Fame Top 5 highest-returning closed positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio | Investment | Duration | Gain | Publication | Analyst | | Band Protocol (BAND) | 0.31 years | 1,169% | Crypto Capital | Wade | | Terra (LUNA) | 0.41 years | 1,166% | Crypto Capital | Wade | | Polymesh (POLYX) | 3.84 years | 1,157% | Crypto Capital | Wade | | Frontier (FRONT) | 0.09 years | 979% | Crypto Capital | Wade | | Binance Coin (BNB) | 1.78 years | 963% | Crypto Capital | Wade | | 
