Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve, addressed two conflicting signals in the US economy: strong economic growth and rising productivity on one hand, and an almost complete halt in new job creation on the other. He noted that zero employment growth in some periods is not sustainable and said that forecasting the labor market outlook depends heavily on February data. Waller described artificial intelligence as playing a key role in future labor market changes and said predicting which jobs will disappear is easier than predicting new ones. He also identified energy shortages as the biggest obstacle to AI development in the United States..

Retail spending in New Zealand grew beyond forecasts, signaling continued economic recovery at the end of 2025. According to Statistics New Zealand data, real sales increased by 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter, above economists’ estimate of 0.6 percent. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has stated that the interest rate cutting cycle has ended and that it currently has no plans to raise rates, a factor that could support consumption. Westpac economists say spending growth has been concentrated in discretionary goods and tourism, while labor market weakness remains a risk to the continuation of this trend.

Donald Trump, reacting to the Supreme Court decision that limited his tariff authority, said in a sharply worded statement that the court had unintentionally given him more power as president. He said he can now use licenses to take action against countries that, in his view, have taken advantage of the United States. Trump also expressed concern about the court’s upcoming ruling on birthright citizenship and warned that if the outcome is not in his favor, it will benefit China and other countries.

Donald Trump, in a post on his social network, denied reports claiming that General Daniel Caine, known as Razin, opposed war with Iran, calling them 100% false. He said that Caine, like everyone else, does not prefer war, but if ordered, believes the conflict would be easy to win. Referring to Caine’s role in operations against Iran’s nuclear program, Trump described him as a great fighter. The US president concluded by warning that he prefers an agreement with Iran over war, but if no agreement is reached, it will be a very bad day for Iran.