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EU leaders are considering hitting the US with a €93bn ($107.7bn) package of tariffs in response to Donald Trump’s threats to Nato allies opposed to his campaign to take over Greenland. Another option that will be discussed at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday is the to date never-used 'Anti-Coercion Instrument' (ACI), which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the U.S. has a surplus with the bloc, including in digital services. "I'm convinced that [Europe] must not give in," observed Jérémie Gallon, a former French diplomat and current senior managing director at McLarty Associates, a Washington-based international strategic advisory firm. "Resisting a new attempt at humiliation and vassalization is the only way Europe can finally assert itself as a geopolitical actor."

 

Financial Times

Politico

Reuters

Walmart has promoted three executives to its top management team, including two who earlier in their careers worked at Amazon, as the world’s largest retailer drives further into e-commerce. The group has named David Guggina, its current chief e-commerce officer, as the new chief executive of Walmart U.S., succeeding John Furner. Additionally, Chris Nicholas, president of Sam’s Club U.S., will become CEO of Walmart International, replacing Kath McLay, who is stepping down. Finally, Latriece Watkins will lead Sam’s Club as its new CEO, while Seth Dallaire has been appointed Walmart’s global chief growth officer. The company says the leadership changes aim to align teams more closely with customers as artificial intelligence transforms retail operations.

 

Fortune

Financial Times

Reuters

Chief revenue officer Lee Brown has announced his departure from DoorDash after less than six months in the role, describing his decision to pursue an unspecified new opportunity as a "difficult, personal decision." The firm has said that Shanna Prevé, currently vice president of enterprise sales and business development, will take on the role, reporting to chief operating officer Prabir Adarkar. Mr Brown added that he is "confident" that Doordash's "business, strategy and leadership position the company for an even stronger future."

 

Bloomberg

U.S. homebuilder confidence declined in January, with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) index falling two points to 37, marking the 21st consecutive month below the breakeven level of 50. Affordability concerns, elevated mortgage rates, and supply-side challenges such as labor shortages, high material costs, and regulatory pressures continue to weigh on the housing market. While a recent drop in mortgage rates offers some relief, builders are still contending with weak buyer traffic and a surplus of unsold new homes. "While the upper end of the housing market is holding steady, affordability conditions are taking a toll on the lower and mid-range sectors," said NAHB chair Buddy Hughes. "Buyers are concerned about high home prices and mortgage rates, with down payments particularly challenging given elevated price-to-income ratios."

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

U.S. business inventories increased by 0.3% in October 2025, according to the Commerce Department, matching September’s gain and exceeding forecasts. The rise in inventories - driven by a 0.6% increase in retail stocks and a 1.3% boost in motor vehicle inventories - could positively impact fourth-quarter GDP. However, business sales continued to slide, raising the inventory-to-sales ratio slightly to 1.38 months. Despite recent inventory declines in previous quarters, GDP growth is expected to remain strong due to an improving trade balance, with the Atlanta Fed forecasting 5.1% annualized growth for the fourth quarter.

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

U.S. industrial production rose by 0.4% in December, significantly outpacing economists’ forecast of a 0.1% gain, according to Federal Reserve data. The increase was driven largely by a 2.6% surge in utilities output, rebounding from a decline in November. November's figure was also revised upward to 0.4%, indicating stronger momentum in the sector.

 

Investing

Nasdaq

Alphabet's Google has asked a judge to defer making the company share data with rivals while it challenges a 2024 ruling that it used unlawful tactics to maintain  its dominance in online search. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington at the time went too far in seeking to level the playing field by ordering the company to share its data with competitors such as generative artificial intelligence companies, Google said. "Although Google believes that these remedies are unwarranted and should never have been imposed, it is prepared to do everything short of turning over its data or providing syndicated results and ads while its appeal is pending," the company said.

 

Reuters

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is scrutinizing big tech firms that hire employees of a startup instead of buying the companies outright. The growing practice is seen as a way to sidestep antitrust review. "We are beginning to examine these acqui-hires to make sure they are not an attempt to get around" the agency’s merger review process, FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. He blamed the Biden administration's aggressive antitrust enforcement for encouraging companies to increase the practice.

 

Bloomberg

The White House is considering an executive action to enact U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for a cap on credit card interest rates, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal is designed to lower interest rates on credit cards as part of a broader push to reduce costs for Americans. The plan, which is still being crafted, may include other measures such as a ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes.

 

Bloomberg

Billionaire fortunes have grown at a rate three times faster than the previous five years since the election of Donald Trump in November 2024, according to Oxfam in a report timed for the opening of the World Economic ‌Forum in Davos. While US billionaires have seen the sharpest growth in their fortunes, billionaires in the rest of the world have also seen double digit increases.  The number of billionaires has surpassed 3,000 for the first time, and the level of billionaire wealth is now higher than at any time in history. "The widening gap between the rich and the rest is at the same time ‍creating a political deficit that is highly dangerous and unsustainable," Oxfam's executive director Amitabh Behar said.

 

Al Jazeera

Oxfam

Reuters

The Guardian

The Canadian government is developing a new automotive strategy aimed at enhancing market access for manufacturers that produce cars domestically in response to White House initiatives encouraging automakers to relocate to the US. The strategy will also allow Chinese firms to assemble vehicles in Canada under specific conditions, such as forming joint ventures with local firms and using Canadian technology. With plans to enhance production and attract new factories, the strategy seeks to reverse job losses experienced after the implementation of US tariffs on foreign-made vehicles.

 

Bloomberg

Suppliers of parts for Nvidia’s H200 chips, which recently gained U.S. approval for sale in China, have paused production after local customs officials blocked shipments of the AI processors.

 

Financial Times

Billionaire Stephen Ross is positioning Palm Beach County as a new tech hub, claiming it offers a more favorable business environment than California. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Mr. Ross stated: "The venture capitalists kind of want to get out of California because of the restrictions that are there." He has invested significantly in West Palm Beach, including a record $772m construction loan for new office towers. Ross is also instrumental in attracting educational institutions, donating $50m to Vanderbilt University for a new campus. He believes South Florida's connection to the defense industry presents further growth opportunities, stating, "That will be a big growth factor here." Despite challenges in attracting young talent, Ross is committed to transforming the area into a vibrant destination for tech companies and their employees.

 

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