Wall Street on Edge Amid Fed Angst | Open Interest 1/12/2026

Watch on YouTube ↗ | January 12, 2026 at 18:36 | 1:27:10 | Bloomberg Markets

Speakers

Dani Burger — Anchor, Bloomberg Television

Caroline Hyde — Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech

Rebecca Patterson — Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, former Chief Investment Strategist at Bridgewater Associates

Ira Jersey — Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Interest Rate Strategist

Jack Janasiewicz — Portfolio Manager, Natixis

Kathy Bostjancic — Chief Economist, Nationwide

Mandeep Singh — Senior Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence

Lucas Montarce — CFO, Eli Lilly

Jessica Nix — Reporter, Bloomberg

Julian Lee — Senior Oil Market Reporter, Bloomberg

Matt Miller — Anchor, Bloomberg

Summary

Bloomberg Open Interest started with markets near record highs but under pressure from Fed independence concerns after DOJ subpoenas to Powell and Trump's push to cap credit-card interest rates. Guests debated the 'Sell America' trade, dollar hedging, Treasury curve steepening, and the impact on banks and credit-card issuers. The show also covered AI-related developments at Walmart, Alphabet/Google, and Eli Lilly/Nvidia, plus Paramount's hostile pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery.

DOJ subpoenas to the Fed and Powell's response stoked worries about Fed independence and long-end Treasury yields.
Trump's proposed 10% credit-card rate cap hit banks and card issuers; buy-now-pay-later was discussed as a beneficiary.
Guests saw dollar hedging and a steeper Treasury curve as key macro expressions.
Walmart's Nasdaq 100 addition and AI partnerships were highlighted as a positive tech pivot.
Apple's reported Gemini partnership kept Alphabet/Google in focus as an AI winner.
Nvidia and Eli Lilly announced an AI drug-discovery lab and investment.
Paramount escalated its hostile pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery while Netflix remained a competing bidder.
Big bank earnings and the Fed's rate path remained in focus.

Ideas

Dani Burger Anchor, Bloomberg Television 0:52

Sell credit cards, buy BNPL

Trump's push to cap credit-card interest rates at 10% threatens the economics of credit-card lenders; if they cannot price risk they may cut credit availability, pushing consumers toward buy-now-pay-later providers. She says the trade is to sell credit-card companies and buy BNPL.

Dani Burger Anchor, Bloomberg Television 0:52

Sell credit cards, buy BNPL

Trump's push to cap credit-card interest rates at 10% threatens the economics of credit-card lenders; if they cannot price risk they may cut credit availability, pushing consumers toward buy-now-pay-later providers. She says the trade is to sell credit-card companies and buy BNPL.

Caroline Hyde Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech 17:17

Walmart AI pivot drives shares

Walmart is moving onto Nasdaq and into the Nasdaq 100 as it presents itself as a tech/AI company, which should create automatic/passive buying. Its deepening AI ties with Alphabet's Gemini and OpenAI, including chatbot shopping, reinforce the tech pivot and support the shares.

Rebecca Patterson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, former Chief Investment Strategist at Bridgewater Associates 20:26

Hedge/Short US dollar slowly

Fed independence concerns and geopolitical friction with Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, and Greenland may lead more countries to question their US exposure, creating a slow dollar-weakness/hedging story rather than a full 'Sell America' trade.

Rebecca Patterson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, former Chief Investment Strategist at Bridgewater Associates 31:10

Treasury curve steepens all year

Political pressure on the Fed and perceptions that the next chair may not act independently should keep long-end Treasury yields elevated while the front end remains anchored, producing a steeper Treasury curve all year.

Jack Janasiewicz Portfolio Manager, Natixis 56:16

Steepener keeps financials trade alive

A steepening yield curve should remain supportive for financials, and the credit-card interest-rate cap threat is more likely to be worked through than to become a clean negative. He expects financials to continue as the trade and Treasury-market action to stay in the steepener.

Ira Jersey Bloomberg Intelligence Chief US Interest Rate Strategist 59:42

Fed threats steepen Treasury curve

Threats to Fed independence have repeatedly steepened the yield curve because markets price higher inflation if monetary policy becomes easier than warranted; the action should remain in the Treasury steepener.

Kathy Bostjancic Chief Economist, Nationwide 71:27

Fed cuts support Treasuries

She sees inflation peaking in early Q2 and then trending lower, with a lagging labor market and modestly restrictive rates giving the Fed room to cut about 50 basis points toward neutral, which should support Treasuries.

Lucas Montarce CFO, Eli Lilly 77:12

Lilly obesity/pipeline drive growth

Lilly's obesity pill is on track for Q2 approval and should expand the market rather than simply cannibalize injectables; Medicare access with $50 patient payments, a broad early-stage M&A pipeline, and the Nvidia AI drug-discovery collaboration support sustainable growth.

Mandeep Singh Senior Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence 85:28

Google/Gemini leads in AI commerce

Apple's reported Gemini partnership is not surprising because Google already has the Apple search relationship, and it positions Alphabet/Gemini well for voice and agentic commerce as AI models specialize. This reinforces Google as a leading AI platform.

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This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 12, 2026, features Dani Burger, Caroline Hyde, Rebecca Patterson, Jack Janasiewicz, Ira Jersey, Kathy Bostjancic, Lucas Montarce, Mandeep Singh discussing COF, C, JPM, V, MA, AXP, Buy now, pay later, WMT, USD, TLT, XLF, LLY, GOOG. 10 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Dani Burger, Caroline Hyde, Rebecca Patterson, Jack Janasiewicz, Ira Jersey, Kathy Bostjancic, Lucas Montarce, Mandeep Singh · Tickers: COF, C, JPM, V, MA, AXP, Buy now, pay later, WMT, USD, TLT, XLF, LLY, GOOG