Summing Up The Week

The second full trading week of 2026 introduced some volatility into the markets with  the announcement of a criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve Bank combined with mixed inflation news.

All that being said, the Bulls still remain in control of the narrative with the S&P 500 making a new all-time high on Monday, and testing it a few times throughout the week.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the news that moved markets this week…

Market News

DOJ launches criminal investigation into Fed Chair Powell

On Sunday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced he was under federal criminal investigation related to the $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, reported CNBC.

Powell says the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation is just the latest in a series of steps taken by President Donald Trump to oust the Chair for not cutting interest rates.”
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,” Powell said in a video statement posted on the Fed’s X account.

Powell continued, “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.”

Stocks sold off after futures opened Sunday evening, indicating, once again, that the market believes an independent Federal Reserve Bank is crucial to open markets.

December inflation rose at 2.6% annualized, less than expected

On Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed core U.S. consumer prices rose 2.6% on annual basis in December, less than the 2.7% expected by economists, reported CNBC. While cooler than expected, the more significant analysis shows that runaway inflation – which many doomsayer pundits were claiming would come – has not happened and the economy is chugging along as it should.

That being said, more level-headed analysts still warn that inflation needs to be closely watched. “We’ve seen this movie before — inflation isn’t reheating, but it remains above target,” wrote Ellen Zentner, Chief Economic Strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “There’s still only modest pass-through from tariffs, but housing affordability isn’t thawing. Today’s inflation report doesn’t give the Fed what it needs to cut interest rates later this month.”

Producer inflation numbers show mixed results

On Wednesday, the Producer Price Index (PPI) showed softer inflation in November than expected at 0.2% versus 0.3% expectations, however headline PPI showed annual inflation up 3% from a year ago which is significantly ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, reported CNBC.

A few pundits claim that the CPI is easier for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to manipulate and that the PPI is the true measure of inflation, however the reality is that PPI is often a leading-indicator of inflation which makes sense, intuitively. Since producers make the products, it’s far more likely they would experience inflation and then pass it on to consumers which would make the results take time to show up in CPI.

Regardless, claims that the Federal Reserve would have no choice but to pause interest rate cuts when they meet in two weeks are being thrown out by many pundits around Wall Street. As a result, stocks pulled back a bit on Wednesday while precious metals – and even Bitcoin – rallied.

Next Week’s Gameplan

Next week is another shortened trading week with markets closed on Monday to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

On Wednesday, we will see the pending home sales for December followed by the first revision of TY2025-Q3 GDP on Thursday. Next week’s big report comes on Friday with the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation.

Additionally, we’re heading into the throes of Earnings Season so here are my holdings reporting next week which I will be watching closely:

• Wednesday: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Schwab (SCHW) both report Before Market Open (BMO).
• Thursday: Intel (INTC) reports After Market Close (AMC).

 Despite being a four-day week, next week promises to be another busy one, so join me back here so we can go over all the market-moving news, friends!

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Crytpo Corner

Bitcoin Price Action

Bulls regained the narrative over the past week with Bitcoin briefly making a higher weekly low at $90,003.46 on Monday before rocketing higher to create a new weekly high at $97,963.62 on Wednesday.

With the 200-Day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) trading right around the $99.6K level, the big question is: will the Bulls be able to push Bitcoin through that key resistance and then flip resistance into support? If the Bulls can pull it off, converting the 200-Day EMA into support could be a green light that the reversal is underway and it’s time to get Bullish about Bitcoin once again.

If Bitcoin fails at that key level, history indicates that the Bears are far from done which means the current cycle low at $80,524.65 might not hold and we could be in for even deeper discounts on Bitcoin throughout 2026.

The Bullish Case

Bulls have been rightfully excited about Bitcoin’s move over the last week. That being said, not a Bull has been able to explain the catalyst for the move outside of obscure (and likely not relevant) technical indicators. Bulls believe this price action indicates a key reversal for sentiment in crypto and some are calling for new all-time highs by the end of the first quarter of 2026 with some claiming those highs will come even sooner.

The Bearish Case

Bears acknowledge the reversal in weeks of ever-weakening price action in Bitcoin, however they also point out, correctly, that the Bulls have a lot to prove. The technical damage done to Bitcoin since October has been enormous, and while the past few week’s have seen a great rally in Bitcoin off key lows, the crypto still has enormous hurdles to complete before the Bears will relinquish their grasp and the narrative.

Bitcoin Trade Update

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Not Your Keys, Not Your Crypto…

In light of brokerage failures in 2022, I no longer keep any of my crypto on an exchange and I only keep enough USD on the exchanges I use to execute my next few buys. I use multiple cold wallets from the brands Ledger and Trezor to hold my crypto (click the links to access the direct sites, and I receive no affiliate benefits from these links).

Additionally, I have now divided my allocated USD between two different exchanges – Gemini and Coinbase – in case one (or both) becomes insolvent. Disclaimer: We both receive a bonus if you use my Gemini referral link to open an account.

I do not trust anyone in the space, even with Coinbase (COIN) being publicly traded (and one of my own Investments in Play positions).

No price target is unrealistic in the cryptocurrency space – Bullish or Bearish.

While traditional stock market investors and traders may think the price targets in the cryptocurrency space are outlandish due to the incredible spread (possible moves include drops of -90% or more and gains of +1000% or more), Bitcoin has demonstrated that, more than any speculative asset, its price is capable of doing anything.

Here are some of Bitcoin’s price movements over the past couple of years:

• In 2017, Bitcoin rose +2,707% from its January low of $734.64 to make an all-time high of $19,891.99 in December.
• Then, Bitcoin crashed nearly -85% from its high to a December 2018 low of $3128.89.
• In the first half of 2019, Bitcoin rallied +343% to $13,868.44.
• In December, Bitcoin crashed -54% to a low of $6430.00 in December 2019.
• In February 2020, Bitcoin rallied +64% to $10,522.51.
• In March , Bitcoin crashed nearly -63% to a low of $3858.00, mostly in 24 hours.
• Then, Bitcoin rallied +988% to a new all-time high of $41,986.37 in January 2021.
• Later in January 2021, Bitcoin dropped -32% to a low of $28,732.00.
• In February, Bitcoin rallied +103% to a new all-time high of $58,367.00.
• Later in February, Bitcoin dropped -26% to a low of $43,016.00.
• In April , Bitcoin rallied +51% to a new all-time high of $64,896.75.
• In June , Bitcoin crashed -56% to a low of $28,800.00.
• In November, Bitcoin rallied +140% to a new all-time high of $69,000.00.
• In November 2022, Bitcoin crashed -78% to a low of $15,460.00.
• In April 2023, Bitcoin rallied +101% to a high of $31,050.00.
• In June, Bitcoin dropped -20% to a low of $24,750.00
• In July, Bitcoin rallied +29% to a high of $31,862.21.
• In September, Bitcoin dropped -22% to a low of $24,900.00.
• In January 2024, Bitcoin rallied +97% to a high of $49,102.29.
• Later in January, Bitcoin dropped -22% to a low of $38,501.00.
• In March, Bitcoin rallied +92% to a new all-time high of $73,835.57.
• In August, Bitcoin dropped -33% to a low of $49,050.01.
• In January 2025, Bitcoin rallied +150% to a new all-time high of $109,358.01.
• In April, Bitcoin dropped -32% to a low of $74,420.69.
• In May, Bitcoin rallied +51% to a new all-time high of $112,000.00.
• In June, Bitcoin dropped -12% to a low of $98,247.01.
• In July, Bitcoin rallied +25% to a new all-time high of $123,231.07.
• In September, Bitcoin dropped -14% to a low of $107,250.00.
• In October, Bitcoin rallied +18% to a new all-time high of $126,296.00.
• In November, Bitcoin dropped -36% to a low of $80,524.65.

Where will Bitcoin go from here? Truly, anything is possible…

What if Bitcoin’s headed to zero?

DISCLAIMER: Anyone considering speculating in the crypto sector should only do so with funds they are prepared to lose completely. All interested individuals should consult a professional financial adviser to see if speculation is right for them. No Get Irked contributor is a financial professional of any kind.