Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:
Alphabet hits $4tn market value
Former Fed chairs attack probe into Powell
Gold and silver hit record highs
Are fashion brands rewriting moviemaking?
We begin in Japan, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering calling a general election as early as next month, according to ruling party members.
Behind the decision: Takaichi has shaken up Japan’s ruling party since becoming the country’s first female prime minister late last year, as she seeks to restore its status as a national vote-winning machine. The Liberal Democratic Party suffered a series of election setbacks under her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba, but by calling a snap election, Takaichi wants to use her and her party’s sky-high approval ratings — cabinet approval ratings are running at about 70 per cent — to reclaim the party’s parliamentary majority.
What’s next? One plan under discussion would involve dissolving the lower house of parliament immediately after it reconvenes on January 23 for a general election around the second week of February, said a senior member of the LDP. Still, Takaichi has not given any clear indication of the timing of a potential election.
How are political analysts and experts reacting to the potential of a snap election in Japan? You can read more in Leo Lewis’s dispatch from Tokyo.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
China-Canada relations: Mark Carney is expected to meet Xi Jinping, the first visit by a Canadian premier since 2017.
Economic data: The US reports December CPI inflation rate and real earnings data.
Results: JPMorgan Chase and Delta Air Lines are among the companies reporting results today. See the full list in the Week Ahead newsletter.
How will shifting monetary policy, fiscal pressures and global volatility shape the year ahead? Join Chris Giles and an expert panel tomorrow as they unpack the economic outlook for investors, companies and households. Register here.
Five more top stories
1. Google’s parent company Alphabet has become the fourth Big Tech group to hit a $4tn market value. Its shares briefly rose following news of a deal with Apple that will see Google’s Gemini AI models power a revamped version of iPhone virtual assistant Siri. At the start of last year, Alphabet’s shares had been lagging behind the broader AI-driven rally in Big Tech stock, but the stock has more than doubled since April.
2. Every living former Federal Reserve chief attacked the Department of Justice’s probe into Jay Powell, accusing Donald Trump’s administration of behaving like an emerging market. Ex-Fed chairs including Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan signed a statement blasting what they described as an “unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine [Fed] independence”.
Explainer: What is behind the criminal investigation into Powell and why has it happened now?
Opinion: “Name-calling has escalated to legal threats over the past few months,” writes Katie Martin. “The only change now is that these threats appear to be crystallising, and that Powell is biting back.”
3. Trump said he may block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the US oil company’s chief executive said the country was “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week. The comments came as the US government looks to attract at least $100bn in private-sector investment to help rebuild Venezuela’s oil sector.
4. A team including researchers from Nvidia and Microsoft has used AI to generate potential new gene editing and drug therapies to combat deadly diseases. The AI models, known as Eden, designed the prospective therapies after learning from a dataset that included more than 10bn novel genes from more than 1.03mn species added over the past several years, according to UK-based Basecamp Research.
5. An app that checks up on people living alone has become one of the most popular Apple Store downloads in China, a sign of concerns created by the country’s rapidly changing demographics. The “Are You Dead?” app, named Sile Me in Chinese, has gone viral as an increasing cohort of young Chinese people have chosen to live alone rather than get married and have a family. Many commentators, however, said the app might have greater practical relevance for elderly people.
Today’s Big Read
An end game is playing out among US shopping malls, the air-conditioned palaces of consumerism that sprang up next to the highway off-ramps of America’s postwar suburbia. “The good malls are doing better than ever. The bad malls are more challenged than ever,” said one property expert. Gregory Meyer reports on the battle for survival in a changing US retail landscape.
We’re also reading . . .
Chart of the day
Following the news of US prosecutors launching a criminal investigation into Powell, gold and silver jumped to record highs. The precious metals have been caught up in what has been dubbed a “debasement trade”, as investors worry that pressure for lower rates will eventually devalue dollar assets. Those concerns, and a hunt for haven assets, have helped fuel the record rally.
Take a break from the news . . .
Fashion and film have long had a symbiotic relationship, but now luxury brands are becoming full-blown Hollywood producers. Are luxurious fashion houses reviving the mid-budget drama — or just cheapening it?
