Happy Wednesday and welcome to your morning wrap of the latest business and political headlines from around the world.
We begin in the Middle East, where US President Donald Trump has urged Iranians to keep protesting and said “help is on the way”, as Iran’s establishment pressed on with its violent crackdown against the biggest demonstrations in years.
As Reuters reported, the unrest has been sparked by dire economic conditions and has posed the biggest challenge to Iran’s rulers in recent years. It also comes at a time of intensifying international pressure following Israeli and US strikes last year.
An Iranian official said overnight that about 2000 people had been killed in the protests, marking the first time authorities have acknowledged the death toll after more than two weeks of unrest.
The US president has sought to put pressure on Iran’s establishment by first announcing yesterday 25% tariffs on products from any country doing business with the major oil exporter, and by hinting at possible military action.
Overnight, Trump posted on social media: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” adding that he has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials.
Iranian authorities have accused both the US and Israel of fomenting the unrest, while China, a key customer of Iran’s oil, has criticised the tariffs.
The unrest and Trump’s comments have seen oil prices rise by 3% overnight.
US President Donald Trump.
Staying with Trump, central bankers from around the world have banded together to stand in solidarity with US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after the US Justice Department initiated a criminal investigation over testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings, the Associated Press reported.
The statement, signed by nine central bank heads, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, said Powell “has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest”.
They added that the independence of central banks is a “cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of citizens we serve”.
The boss of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, has also warned that the Trump administration’s attack on the Fed could backfire and push up borrowing costs.
As the Financial Times reported, Dimon said he had “enormous respect for Jay Powell, the man” and was a strong supporter of Fed independence.
Despite the outcry, Trump has taken more shots at Powell, saying he is either “incompetent” or “crooked” after being asked whether an indictment undermines confidence in the Fed.
JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon.
In other news, prosecutors in South Korea have asked for the country’s former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to be handed a death sentence if he is found guilty over his botched attempt to impose martial law in late 2024.
The act only lasted a few hours but plunged the country into political turmoil. He was later impeached by parliament and detained to face trial.
As the BBC reported, a court in Seoul heard closing arguments in Yoon’s trial, in which he was accused of being the “ringleader of an insurrection”.
Yoon has denied the charges against him, arguing that martial law was a symbolic gesture to draw public attention to the alleged wrongdoings of the opposition party.
The punishment for leading an insurrection in South Korea carries a life sentence or the death penalty. The country has not executed anyone in nearly 30 years.
To Europe, where Greenland has chosen Denmark over the United States in the burgeoning geopolitical conflict over who controls the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, voiced the territory’s allegiance at a joint press conference with Denmark’s Prime Minister in Copenhagen overnight, Deutsche Welle reported.
"We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark," Nielsen said.
He rejected the idea that Greenland would come under US control.
Trump has been promoting the idea of buying or annexing the territory for years for national security reasons, but has stoked tensions in recent weeks by saying the US would take it “one way or the other”.
In recent years, there has been increased interest in Greenland’s natural resources, including rare earth minerals.
About 80% of Greenland is covered by ice.
In economic news, meanwhile, US inflation increased in December on the back of higher costs for rents and food, Reuters reported.
Headline inflation rose 0.3% last month, while annual inflation matched November’s gain at 2.7% in the year ended December. The result was in line with economists’ expectations.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food prices, increased 0.2% in December.
Economists expect that lingering distortions to inflation data from last year’s government shutdown held the annual inflation rate down by 0.1%, and that core inflation could accelerate in January as businesses push through price increases.
The Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady at its next meeting later this week.
