Wall Street reacts to President Trump's Fed Chair nomination: Kevin Warsh

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 30, 2026 at 18:46  |  9:14  |  CNBC
Speakers
Jim Lebenthal — Partner, Cetera Investment Management
Stephanie Link — Chief Investment Strategist, Hightower
Josh Brown — CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management
Scott Wapner — Host, CNBC

Summary

The Halftime Report panel reacts to Kevin Warsh's nomination as Fed chair, focusing on what it means for Fed independence and markets. The discussion centers on the sharp reversal in gold and silver after a parabolic run, driven by retail options mania and leveraged positioning. Panelists debate whether the precious-metals trade is merely pausing or resetting within a longer-term uptrend, and note crypto is under pressure from the rotation.

  • Kevin Warsh is nominated as Fed chair, prompting market reaction.
  • Fed independence concerns are seen as partly eased by the Warsh pick.
  • Gold and silver sell off sharply after a parabolic run.
  • Retail options activity and leverage are blamed for the metals move.
  • Stephanie Link favors maintaining exposure to gold, silver and copper.
  • Josh Brown sees the flush as healthy and the longer-term uptrend intact.
  • Crypto is described as under pressure from the metals rotation.
Ideas
Jim Lebenthal Partner, Cetera Investment Management 1:47
Silver options mania may pause.
Silver's parabolic move was driven by retail/options mania: open option contracts skyrocketed and silver options volume surpassed Nasdaq options. With Fed-independence concerns partly eased by Warsh, the trade may take a pause, and parabolic assets are vulnerable to an escalator-up, elevator-down reversal.
SILVER MED
Stephanie Link Chief Investment Strategist, Hightower 5:37
Hold gold, silver, copper exposure.
Central banks have shifted reserves from U.S. Treasuries into gold and silver and are unlikely to suddenly sell, which supports those metals. Silver is also half an industrial commodity, and manufacturing, durable goods, factory orders and AI demand support more silver and copper use, with gold benefiting to a lesser degree. She favors maintaining exposure to gold, silver and copper even if the parabolic move pauses near term.
GLD SILVER COPPER HIGH
Josh Brown CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management 8:37
Gold, silver uptrend intact after flush.
The selloff in gold and silver was not driven by fundamentals but by leveraged, unsophisticated money being flushed out after a parabolic run. That flush is healthy and allows prices to reset. Central-bank accumulation remains the primary long-term trend, so a gold or silver bull can still bet on that longer-term uptrend.
GLD SLV HIGH
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This CNBC video, published January 30, 2026, features Jim Lebenthal, Stephanie Link, Josh Brown discussing SILVER, GLD, COPPER, SLV. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Jim Lebenthal, Stephanie Link, Josh Brown  · Tickers: SILVER, GLD, COPPER, SLV