U.S. Justice Dept. ends probe into Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell

The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded its investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell without taking any enforcement action. The closure of the probe removes a layer of political and regulatory uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the central bank, reinforcing Powell’s operational independence. This development supports confidence in the Fed’s policy continuity, which can bolster the U.S. dollar through improved perception of institutional stability. The USD may gain modest upward pressure, particularly against safe-haven and emerging market currencies, as risk appetite improves on reduced governance concerns. Traders will next focus on the upcoming FOMC meeting minutes for signals on rate trajectory, which now carry greater weight in the absence of leadership-related distractions.

The US Dollar (USD) is the world's primary reserve currency and the base for most forex majors. Headlines about Federal Reserve policy, US macro data (CPI, NFP, GDP), and Treasury yield shifts typically drive USD pair direction within seconds of release.

HIGH-impact news is typically a market-moving event with multi-pip or multi-percent intraday reactions. Examples include central bank rate decisions, major CPI/NFP releases, geopolitical shocks, mega-cap earnings beats/misses, and regulatory announcements. Traders typically position-reduce or hedge ahead of scheduled HIGH-impact events, and follow the wire in real time to react to unscheduled ones (war headlines, central-bank emergency statements, surprise corporate actions). The Trading News Terminal squawk box reads every HIGH-impact headline aloud the moment it hits the wire — so active traders don't have to stare at the feed.

Active traders typically follow a three-step workflow when a market-moving headline hits the wire: (1) read the headline on the terminal or hear it on the squawk box; (2) assess whether the news is already priced in (by checking intraday price action in the seconds before) or whether it's genuinely new information; (3) act — either entering a breakout position, fading an overreaction, or tightening stops on existing trades. Trading News Terminal's Pro plan delivers wire-grade headlines within seconds of the source, with automatic audio squawk on every HIGH-impact event, so the read-assess-act cycle never waits on a refresh button.