JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon defended the Federal Reserve after it was subpoenaed by the Justice Department, saying that “anything that chips away” at the central bank’s independence “is not a good idea.” Meanwhile, U.S. inflation remained relatively contained at the close of 2025 despite turbulence from tariffs, giving the Fed some breathing room as it weighs the threat of price pressures against a cooling labor market.

Jamie Dimon, speaking with reporters after JPMorgan Chase issued its fourth-quarter earnings results, said political interference with the Fed would cause inflation and interest rates to go up, contrary to President Trump’s stated goal of getting rates to go lower. Dimon’s remarks came after Fed Chair Jerome Powell disclosed over the weekend that he was being investigated by the Justice Department.

Consumer prices rose 2.7% in December from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That was unchanged from November’s pace and in line with the expectations of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

"The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is statutorily independent of Central Government on matters of monetary policy. However, the RBNZ has no role, nor should it involve itself, in U.S. domestic politics," Peters said in a social media post. "We remind the Governor to stay in her New Zealand lane and stick to domestic monetary policy.” —James Glynn

10 a.m.: FRB Philadelphia President Anna Paulson speaks at Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia State of the Economy event
10 a.m.: Online Help Wanted Index
10 a.m.: Existing Home Sales
12 p.m.: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks at the Midwest Economic Forecast Forum
12 p.m.: FRB Atlanta President Raphael Bostic speaks at Atlanta Business Chronicle Economic Outlook event
2 p.m.: Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams speaks at 'An Economy That Works for All' event
2 p.m.: U.S. Federal Reserve Beige Book

8:30 a.m.: Import & Export Price Indexes
8:30 a.m.: Empire State Manufacturing Survey
8:30 a.m.: Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey
8:30 a.m.: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims
8:45 a.m.: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic speaks at Metro Atlanta Chamber board of directors meeting
1:30 p.m.: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid speaks before the Economic Club of Kansas City
6 p.m.: FRB Richmond President Thomas Barkin speaks at VBA/VA Chamber Financial Forecast event

Most years, presidents don’t have much impact on the economy; it is just too big and complicated. This year won’t be like most years. President Trump is taking unprecedented steps to run the economy hot, and there is an excellent chance he’ll succeed, writes WSJ’s Greg Ip.

Washington has three big levers that affect growth: fiscal policy (taxes and spending), monetary policy (interest rates), and credit policy (the ease of borrowing). Historically, they were not coordinated: Fiscal policy followed the congressional cycle, monetary policy was set by an independent Fed and credit policy reflected often random decisions by regulators. This year, all three are dialed toward stimulus, reflecting a single-minded focus by Trump and congressional Republicans on faster economic growth. They hope that will deliver victory in the November midterm elections.

In the process, they are compromising other goals: taming debt, Fed independence and long-term financial stability. The consequences of that come later.

• When President Trump returned to the White House last year, economists predicted new tariffs would stifle China’s massive export machine. Instead, China’s trade surplus reached a record in 2025 at $1.19 trillion. Exports jumped 5.5% last year from 2024 in dollar-denominated terms, compared with 5.9% growth the prior year, China’s customs agency reported Wednesday.
• The Bank of Korea is expected to keep its base rate unchanged at 2.5% this week. All 29 analysts polled by WSJ forecast no rate change at Thursday's policy meeting. Regarding the BOK's future rate moves, views are divided, with some analysts dropping their earlier forecasts of a possible cut. (Dow Jones Newswires)
• Indonesia's central bank has reiterated its defense of the rupiah, coming as volatility in Asian currencies tests the region's policymakers. Bank Indonesia said it will keep intervening to stabilize the rupiah, which is off to a poor start in 2026, hovering near the record lows against the dollar reached last in April. (DJN)

WSJ Pro Central Banking brings you central banking news, analysis and insights from WSJ’s global team of reporters and editors. This newsletter was compiled by markets reporter Vicky Ge Huang in New York. Send your tips, suggestions and feedback to vicky.huang@wsj.com.