Bloomberg reports Chinese regulators have advised financial institutions to rein in Treasury holdings, citing concerns over “concentration risk and volatility.” Officials urged banks to limit purchases of U.S. government bonds and instructed those with high exposure to reduce positions. The directive does not apply to China’s state holdings of Treasuries (which have declined from $1.2T as recently as June ’18 to $682.6B in Nov. ’25).
China’s PBOC increased its gold reserves for the 15th consecutive month in January, adding 40koz. China’s official gold reserves now total 74.19Moz ($370B) and in USD terms constitute 9.6% of total reserves (vs. 8.5% in Dec. and 5.9% in Jan. ’25).
In the biggest landslide in postwar Japanese history, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won more than two-thirds of seats in parliament’s lower house on Sunday, giving her free reign to pursue her expansionary fiscal agenda without negotiating with other parties or having to seek upper house approval. After sliding for months on concerns over fiscal spending in the country with the world’s heaviest debt burden, JGB’s and the yen were steady in Monday trading while the Nikkei 225 Index soared to record highs.
Separately, Takaichi said on Sunday evening that she and President Trump will discuss deepening cooperation over economic security during a U.S.-Japan summit slated for next month, including joint development of deep-sea mining of rare earths near Minamitorishima.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s future is increasingly in the balance after a crisis over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador despite his known ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer’s chief of staff and communications director have both resigned, and Starmer’s allies and opponents alike are waiting to see if he will step aside or face resignations from more cabinet ministers.
Wed. @ 8:30 am U.S. January Employment Report (est. payrolls +69k and unemployment rate 4.4%).
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