For the week 1/19-1/23

[Posted 4:30 PM ET, Friday]

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Edition 1,396

President Trump on Truth Social, Friday AM:

“What a great trip to Davos it was.  So many things accomplished, including the framework of a deal with NATO on Greenland.  Also, the BOARD OF PEACE. WOW!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT”

Laughable.

Davos was an unmitigated disaster.  President Trump, in his speech there, was reckless and unhinged.  He lied endlessly.  He felt compelled to bring up 2020’s “rigged election.”  It was outrageous.

Trump said, “We’ll be there for NATO 100%.  I’m not sure that they’d be there for us,” one of his new themes that he repeats over and over again, forgetting that the only time Article 5 was invoked was after 9/11 when NATO rushed to our aid and shed blood in Afghanistan.

[Trump later told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that NATO troops “stayed off” Afghanistan’s front lines.  For the record, the UK lost 457 lives there, Canada 159, and little Denmark 43, to name a few of the sacrifices our allies made.]

Watching his speech, I kept thinking that with all of his anti-NATO and Europe comments, why would any European want to come to the United States and spend their tourist dollars, just as a large portion of Canadians have stopped doing so.

Why would you come to the World Cup this summer?  Why would you go to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?

The collateral damage done in our relationship with our allies is considerable.  The United States lost a ton of credibility this week.  It will take time, and a new administration, to repair the rupture, though it will never be fully repaired.

BUT…on the other hand, President Trump did Europe a big favor.  Maybe, just maybe, he lit a fire under this sclerotic continent.  NATO’s leaders understand that not only can they not trust the United States anymore, but they must get their own act together, both in strengthening their defenses and economically.

As for the topic of Greenland, and Trump’s threats to invade, or acquire it, at the end of his two days in Davos we were all left thinking ‘What was that all about?!’

The president gained nothing and had to back down, because the hero of the week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, clearly talked some sense into Trump and convinced him his bluster and bullying wasn’t going to work, and that NATO (read Denmark) would grant the U.S. whatever it wanted on the military front to help secure the Brave New World, with sea lanes opening, and hostile actors with nukes, and if the U.S. wants to have mineral rights, well, have at it.  Just negotiate.

As I spell out in great detail below, nothing, zero, was gained by Trump that he couldn’t have accomplished with diplomacy, engagement and an acknowledgement of facts.

But while Rutte was the hero this week, Russia and China were the winners.

Trump’s designs on Greenland were music to Russia’s ears, justifying Moscow’s imperialist designs in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe.

And China’s with Taiwan.

The process of the West tearing itself apart has begun and Xi and Putin love it.

But don’t worry, President Trump has “always had a great relationship” with the two.

Lastly, this weekend could be Iran’s turn in grabbing the headlines.

—

At least we probably won’t be dealing with a government shutdown next week as the House passed this year’s final batch of spending bills on Thursday as lawmakers worked to avoid another debacle.

The four bills total about $1.2 trillion in spending and now move to the Senate, with final passage needed next week before the Jan. 30 deadline.

One of the four bills funding the Department of Homeland Security was contentious, passing just 220-207, as Democrats voiced concerns that it failed to restrain President Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

Republicans celebrated the avoidance of a massive, catchall funding bill known as an omnibus as part of this year’s appropriations process.  This year’s effort, while a few months behind schedule, manages to keep non-defense spending just below current levels, they emphasized.

Meanwhile, we’ll all have the Weather Channel on this weekend.

Bill Kirk, CEO of Weathertrends360, said this will be the coldest, snowiest, and wettest weekend in over 41 years.

This is the last weekend of retailers’ fourth quarter, not good for malls and apparel stores, but lots of groceries are being sold, gas pumped, and the Home Depots of the world will do well, too.

And we’ve got football Sunday….as long as your power stays on.

—

Wall Street and the Economy

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng delivered a message of free trade, multilateralism, cooperation and dialogue, as the world, including the host continent Europe, grapples with increasingly aggressive moves from Washington.

“Everyone should be equal before the rules; a very small number of countries should not enjoy the privilege of pursuing their own selfish interests.  The world must not return to the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak,” He said.

He emphasized that when China and the United States cooperate, both benefit, and when they confront each other, both suffer, as he called for both countries to support each other’s success and pursue shared prosperity.

Acknowledging that China’s average consumption still lagged behind developed economies, He reiterated Beijing’s commitment to boosting domestic demand and increasing incomes, vowing to further open up China’s market to high-quality foreign goods.

But China’s weak demand for foreign goods, compared with its strong export power, has become a flashpoint for Beijing on the international stage, especially in Europe.

As noted last week, Beijing posted a record US$1.19 trillion trade surplus in 2025, despite exports to the U.S. plunging, as China successfully diverted its trade to markets such as Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a stark warning to the world’s middle powers Tuesday, describing a rapidly developing world order in which powerful nations abandon diplomatic traditions in pursuit of their interests – a clear reference to the United States and the Trump administration, though he mentioned neither by name.

Carney said Canada and the world were at a turning point.

“Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story and the beginning of a brutal reality where geopolitics among the great powers is not subject to any constraints,” he said in French, though he said the world’s middle powers can build a new order embodied by shared values such as respect for human rights, “sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.”

Switching to English for the rest of his speech, he said that those middle powers – nations that are not superpowers, but still wield significance on the international stage – must “live the truth” and “stop invoking rules-based international order as though it still functions as advertised.”

“Call it what it is – a system of intensifying great-power rivalry, where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion,” Carney said.

“Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” he said.  “…Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”

Carney’s remarks come at a time when historically close U.S.-Canada ties have been upended by President Trump, who has repeatedly floated the idea of annexing Canada, saying it “should be the 51st state.”

Hours before Carney’s speech, Trump posted on Truth Social digitally altered images that illustrated his expansionist designs, including one portraying a map in the Oval Office with the American flag covering Greenland, Canada and Venezuela.

—The International Monetary Fund said the world economy is projected to grow faster this year than previously expected.  In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast that global output will hold at 3.3 percent for a third consecutive year.  The estimate is 0.2 percentage points higher than the fund’s prediction in October, with growth now expected to slow to 3.2 percent in 2027.  Global inflation is expected to ease this year to 3.8 percent, from 4.1 percent in 2025.

“The global economy is shaking off the trade and tariff disruptions of 2025 and is coming out ahead of what we were expecting before it all started,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, told reporters ahead of the report’s release.

The IMF pegs U.S. growth at 2.4 percent this year, up from 2.1 percent in 2025.

China is projected to grow 4.5 percent this year.

Overall, growth in advanced economies is projected to be 1.8 percent, while output in emerging markets and developing economies is expected to hover just above 4 percent.

The fund said a pullback in A.I. investment, flaring trade tensions and a global conflict that disrupted energy prices could threaten the outlook.

The IMF said it was closely watching how the Supreme Court rules on President Trump’s tariffs.

On the U.S. data front this week, we had a final reading on third quarter GDP, a strong 4.4%, after 3.8% in the second quarter.

We also had November readings on personal income, up 0.3%, and consumption, up 0.5%, along with the Fed’s preferred inflation barometer, the personal consumption expenditures index (PCE), which came in as expected, up 0.2% for the month, 0.2% on core (ex-food and energy), with both up 2.8% year-over-year.  No surprises, and it’s November data.  Rather irrelevant in terms of the Fed and its decision-making process for next week.

The Open Market Committee gathers Tuesday and Wednesday and will hold the line on interest rates, but it’s the vote and the number of dissents that will be interesting.  And then Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments in his presser after.

But speaking of the Fed, President Trump’s attempt to control the central bank met with skepticism from the Supreme Court, including conservative jurists, on Wednesday as the justices debated a case that could have major consequences for the nation’s economy.

The court’s conservatives repeatedly pressed Solicitor General John Sauer on why he’s in a rush to remove Lisa Cook from the Fed board without a full review of the allegations he’s made against her.

“What’s the fear of more process here?” Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked.

Kavanaugh said the president’s position that he alone determines when a Fed governor can be removed for misconduct would “weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.”

“Once these tools are unleashed, they are used by both sides,” he warned.  “We have to be aware of what we’re doing and the consequences of your position for the structure of the government.”

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow barometer for the fourth quarter is at a strong 5.4%, with more data to come before an official first reading.

Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.09%, up 3 ticks from last week.

Europe and Asia

We had flash PMIs for the euro area for January, courtesy of S&P Global / Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The composite reading is at 51.5, unchanged from December, with manufacturing at 50.2, services 51.9 (50 the dividing line between growth and contraction).

Germany: manufacturing 50.5; services 53.3
France: mfg. 51.9 (47-month high); services 47.9 (9-mo. low)

UK: mfg. 51.5; services 54.3 (21-mo. high)

Dr. Cyrus de la Rubia, Chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank:

“The recovery still looks rather feeble.  In manufacturing, the headline PMI continues to signal weakness, while growth in services activity is somewhat more moderate than the month before.  Overall economic growth remains unchanged.  Looking ahead, the low growth in new orders is certainly no game changer.  Instead, the start into the new year points to more of the same in the months to come.”

Eurostat released final inflation data for the eurozone for December, and it rose 1.9%, down from 2.1% in November.  A year earlier the rate was 2.4%.  Ex-food and energy the figure was 2.3%, down from 2.7% a year ago.

Headline inflation….

Germany 2.0%, France 0.7%, Italy 1.2%, Spain 3.0%, Netherlands 2.5%, Ireland 2.7%.

Separately, European Union lawmakers on Wednesday voted to block a major free trade agreement with the Mercosur group of South American countries over concerns about the legality of the deal.

In a vote in Strasbourg, France, the lawmakers narrowly approved sending the EU-Mercosur agreement to Europe’s top court to rule on whether it is in line with the bloc’s treaties.  The lawmakers voted by 334 votes in favor to 324 against, with 11 abstentions.

The long-sought-after free trade agreement was just signed last Saturday. It aimed to strengthen commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.

In Asia…China confirmed it achieved its annual growth target last year despite having to weather an unprecedented trade war with the United States, with the country’s GDP rising 5% from a year earlier in 2025, in line with the government target of “around 5%,” according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

The above-noted export sector was a main factor, strength in exports making up for challenges in other areas, as China continues to grapple with sluggish domestic demand and an ongoing property downturn.

But Kang Hi, commissioner of the statistics bureau, cautioned that changes in the external environment were intensifying, supply continued to exceed demand, and that many “long-standing problems and new challenges still remain in economic development.”

“We must adopt more proactive and effective macro policies, continue to expand domestic demand, improve the supply…so as to get the 15th five-year period off to a good start,” Kang added.

While growth for all of 2025 was 5%, in the fourth quarter it was just 4.5%, which was versus 4.8% in Q3.

December industrial production rose 5.2% year-over-year, but retail sales were up just 0.9%, and fixed-asset investment fell 3.8%, the first annual decline since 1989!

The December unemployment rate was 5.1%.

And China has another problem.  A decade after ending China’s longtime one-child policy, authorities are pushing a range of ideas and policies to try and encourage more births – tactics that range from cash subsidies to taxing condoms to eliminating a tax on matchmakers and day care centers.

The efforts haven’t paid off yet, at least as population figures released Monday showed.  China’s population of 1.4 billion (second to India) continued to shrink, marking the fourth straight year of decrease.  The total population in 2025 stood at 1.404 billion, which was 3 million less than the previous year.

Measured another way, the birth rate in 2025 is the lowest on record since 1949, the year that Mao Zedong’s Communists overthrew the Nationalists and began running China.

Most families cite the costs and pressure of raising a child in a highly competitive society as significant hurdles that now loom larger in the face of an economic downturn that has impacted households struggling to meet their living costs.  Another potential factor in the numbers: last year in China was the year of the snake, considered one of the least favored years for having a child under the Chinese zodiac.

The government last published a fertility rate in 2020, when it was 1.3.  Experts now estimate it is around 1.  Both figures are far below the 2.1 rate that would maintain the size of China’s population.

Japan reported out flash PMI readings for January, with manufacturing at 51.5, services 53.4, both solid.

December exports rose 5.1% from a year ago, imports up 5.3%.

December inflation came in at 2.1%, ex-food and energy 2.9% vs. 3.0% prior.

The slump in Japanese bonds deepened Monday and Tuesday, sending yields soaring to records as investors gave a thumbs down to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election pitch to cut taxes on food.

The 40-year bond rocketed past 4% to a fresh high since its debut in 2007 and a first for any maturity of the nation’s sovereign debt in more than three decades.  The jump in 30- and 40-year yields of more than 25 basis points was the most since the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs onslaught in April last year.

A lackluster auction of 20-year paper earlier underscored broader worries over government spending and inflation.  U.S. Treasuries, already under pressure on concern that tariffs may dim the allure of U.S. assets, extended declines as the selloff in Japanese debt accelerated.

Wednesday, Japan’s longer maturity bonds rebounded in a volatile market, with investors voicing concerns that the government and central bank may need to do more to calm the surge in yields.

Thursday, the Bank of Japan kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.75% at its first policy meeting of 2026, maintaining borrowing costs at their highest level since Sept. 1995.  The widely expected decision was backed by an 8-1 vote.

Policymakers reiterated that rates could rise further, following two hikes in 2025, if activity and inflation evolve in line with projections.

At week’s end the bond market calmed down, though the yield on the Japanese 10-year is still at a 27-year weekly closing high of 2.24%.

Takaichi dissolved parliament and the snap election she called for is Feb. 8.

Street Bytes

–We had a wicked selloff on Tuesday (the markets closed Monday for MLK Jr. Day) following President Trump’s weekend tariff announcement tied to Greenland.  It was a ‘Sell America’ trade, Treasuries doing poorly as well.  But then the markets rallied bigly after he backed off in his threats in Davos, except it wasn’t enough to overcome Tuesday, the major indexes declining, with the Dow Jones off 0.5%, the S&P 500 0.4% and Nasdaq just 0.1%.

Next week we get earnings from Microsoft, Meta, and Apple.

—U.S. Treasury Yields

6-mo. 3.63%  2-yr. 3.60%  10-yr. 4.23%  30-yr. 4.83%

The 10-year yield hit 4.30%, Tuesday, after the tariff threats, but then reversed to finish the week essentially unchanged, 4.23%.

Separately, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said President Trump may well keep him in his current job, which would eliminate him from contention for the next Federal Reserve chair.

“From the beginning, he and I have talked about whether it’s better for me to be here in the West Wing or over at the Fed,” Hassett said on Fox News.  “I don’t think he’s made a final call on that.”

The current betting favorite is Kevin Warsh, with BlackRock’s Rick Rieder gaining momentum.

—The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global oil-demand growth due to an improved economic outlook and lower crude prices, but warned supply is still expected to outpace consumption.

The Paris-based organization, which represents major oil-consuming nations, now expects demand to grow by 930,000 barrels a day this year from 860,000 barrels a day previously. That compares with demand growth of 850,000 barrels a day last year.

Crude rose a bit this week on Iran concerns, West Texas Intermediate at $61.16.

—Gold and Silver hit new record highs again, with Silver, which was $33.40 on May 26, hitting $102 today!  My friend George, with physical silver buried all over the tri-state area, is a rather happy camper these days.  Gold, at 3:30 PM ET, was $4980, just shy of $5K.  Wow.

—Taiwanese server maker Inventec said on Tuesday that a decision on whether Nvidia will be able to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chip in China “appears to be stuck on the China side.”

The Trump administration formally approved the chip for export to China last week with some conditions.  Reuters reported last week that Chinese customs authorities told customs agents that the H200 chip was not permitted to enter China though it was not clear whether this constituted a formal ban or a temporary measure.

Inventec is a contract manufacturer of notebooks and AI servers that use Nvidia products including the H200 in some products.  It produces servers for Chinese customers mainly at its factory in Shanghai.

“It depends on the political direction, because the issue ultimately comes down to whether China allows it.  Basically, the United States is open to it, but at the moment it appears to be stuck on the China side,” Inventec’s President Jack Tsai told a press conference in Taipei.

Well, on Friday Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials have told the country’s largest tech firms including Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. they can prepare orders for Nvidia’s H200 chips, suggesting Beijing is close to formally approving imports.  The companies are now cleared to discuss specifics such as the amounts they would require, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

—Netflix issued softer-than-expected margin guidance late Tuesday, overshadowing higher fourth-quarter earnings than expected and the shares fell Wednesday.

The video streamer reported a fourth-quarter profit of 56 cents a share, as revenue climbed almost 18% from a year ago to $12.05 billion.  The Street was at 55 cents on revenue of $11.97bn.

Netflix is forecasting full-year 2026 revenue of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion.  At the midpoint of that range, it would be above the $51.0 billion that Wall Street was estimating.

But the company is predicting an operating margin of 31.5%, below analysts’ expectations.  Netflix said its call includes about $275 million of expenses related to its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studios assets.

The company is also pausing its share buybacks as it seeks to build up its cash pile to fund the Warner deal.

Netflix surpassed 325 million paid memberships last quarter.  The streamer expects advertising revenue to double this year, and said its priorities for 2026 include building out its live sports initiatives, expanding into video podcasts, and closing the Warner deal.

Speaking of which, Warner Bros. Discovery approved a new all-cash bid from Netflix for its studios and HBO Max streaming business and released financial details on its soon-to-be spun-off cable networks in a Tuesday regulatory filing.

Netflix’s all-cash offer of $27.75 per share replaces its previous offer of $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix common stock per share. The sweetened offer comes as rival bidder Paramount continues pushing its own all-cash offer for all of Warner Discovery.  The value of Netflix’s offer remains $72 billion.

The companies said Tuesday they expect the new structure to enable Warner shareholders to vote on the deal by April.  The change could also help sway some shareholders who might be weighing its bid against Paramount’s.

The new Netflix agreement also reduces by $260 million the amount of Warner debt being placed on Discovery Global, the company that will house cable channels including CNN, TNT and Food Network.

Paramount has continued to push its $77.9 billion hostile offer for all of Warner Discovery, including its cable networks.

—Intel shares fell sharply (17% at the end of the day) after the chip maker offered disappointing guidance for its first-quarter revenue.

For the December quarter, the company reported better-than-expected revenue of $13.7 billion, compared with analysts’ expectations of $13.4 billion.  The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 15 cents in the quarter vs. the Street’s consensus estimate for 8 cents.

But Intel forecast revenue of $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion for the current quarter with the consensus at $12.6 billion.

CFO David Zinsner said in an interview with Barron’s that processor demand was “really strong,” but the company had worked through much of its prior inventory and is still facing “supply constraints,” i.e., manufacturing issues.  He expects chip supply will improve each quarter the rest of the year.

Zinsner said Intel isn’t seeing much impact yet from higher memory chip prices as many companies have already procured supply for the first two quarters of 2026.  But he said the rise in memory prices could be “a bit of a challenge” in the second half of the year.

—United Airlines’ fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results soared past Wall Street’s expectations.

The carrier reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.10 a share on revenue of $15.4 billion, up 4.8% and the highest quarterly revenue in United history, beating expectations.  Analysts had expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.93 a share on revenue of $15.4 billion.

Full-year adjusted earnings of $10.62 a share surpassed the $10.57 a share expected.  Revenue of $59.07bn, up 3.5% and the highest in United’s history, was slightly above the $59.05 billion expected.

UAL said it expects current first-quarter earnings of $1.00 to $1.50 a share, and full-year earnings of $12 to $14 a share.

Analysts were expecting EPS of $1.13 in the first quarter and $13.19 for the full year.

United’s premium revenue increased 9% in the fourth quarter and 11% in the full year; loyalty revenue increased 10% in the quarter and 9% in the full year; and basic economy revenue grew 7% in the quarter and 5% for the full year.

CEO Scott Kirby said the company’s results are built on winning more brand-loyal customers. The results were “providing strong revenue momentum that is continuing into 2026.”

The week ending Jan. 4 was the highest flown revenue week in United’s history, and the week ending Jan. 11 was the highest ticketing week and the highest week for business sales in United history.

Shares rose 2% on the open.

—TSA checkpoint numbers vs. 2025

1/22…131 percent of 2025
1/21…103
1/20…79
1/19…121
1/18…115
1/17…79
1/16…110
1/15…133

—JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said President Trump’s proposal to cap credit-card interest rates would spell “economic disaster” for the U.S., forcing banks to pull credit lines for many Americans.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Dimon said his firm will give a “real analysis” of the proposal to the government.  JPMorgan has already provided some thoughts on the idea, “but not a lot,” Dimon said.

Trump earlier this month called for a one-year, 10% cap on credit card rates to go into effect on Jan. 20, a deadline that came and went without noticeable changes from the industry.  The president has said his proposal is part of a broader push to reduce costs for Americans.  With few specifics, banks and payment firms have been trying to ready themselves for any follow-up details that might come from the administration.

Banks have argued that an interest-rate cap would force lenders to drastically pull back on credit they provide to consumers, leaving them with more expensive and less reliable venues such as payday lenders and pawn shops. The proposal has received some support from Democratic officials, who have been pushing for similar moves in proposed legislation.

“Our business, you know, we would survive it by the way,” Dimon said.  “In the worst case, you’d have to have a drastic reduction of the credit-card business.”

Separately, Trump then sued JPM and Dimon for $5 billion, accusing JPMorgan of debanking him and his businesses for political reasons after he left office in January 2021.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, alleges that JPMorgan abruptly closed multiple accounts in February 2021 with just 60 days notice and no explanation.  By doing so, Trump claims JPMorgan cut the president and his businesses off from millions of dollars, disrupted their operations and forced Trump and the businesses to urgently open bank accounts elsewhere.

In a statement, JPMorgan said that it “regrets” that Trump sued them but insisted they did not close the accounts for political reasons.

–A deal between the U.S. and China to sell TikTok’s American business to a consortium of investors has finally been approved. TikTok announced on Thursday night that a joint venture company has been established, as was expected.

CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees in a memo in December about the plans to create the joint venture.  President Trump signed an executive order in September that paved the way to make the deal possible.

The joint venture has three managing investors – Oracle, private-equity firm Silver Lake, and Emirati state-owned AI investor MGX.  Each of those firms will hold 15% in the new entity.

Other investors include the Dell Family Office, which is the investment firm of Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell; Vastmere Strategic Investments, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group; and Alpha Wave Partners.  China’s ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake of the joint venture.

—Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, saying he deserves the “wrongful gains” that they received from his early support, according to a court filing last Friday.

OpenAI gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from the billionaire entrepreneur’s contributions when he was co-founding what was then a startup from 2015, while Microsoft gained between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion, Musk said in the federal court filing ahead of his trial against the two companies.

“Without Elon Musk, there’d be no OpenAI.  He provided the bulk of the seed funding, lent his reputation, and taught them all he knows about scaling a business. A pre-eminent expert quantified the value of that,” Musk’s lead trial lawyer Steven Molo said in a statement to Reuters.

During the week, OpenAI called the lawsuit “baseless” and part of a “harassment” campaign by Musk.  A Microsoft lawyer has said there is no evidence that the company “aided and abetted” OpenAI.

The two companies challenged Musk’s damages claims in a separate filing on Friday.

Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and runs xAI with its competitor chatbot Grok, alleges that ChatGPT operator OpenAI violated its founding mission in a high-profile restructuring to a for-profit entity.

The trial is expected to start in April.

Musk’s filing says he contributed about $38 million, 60% of OpenAI’s early seed funding, helped recruit staff, connect the founders with contacts and lend credibility to the project when it was created.

“Just as an early investor in a startup company may realize gains many orders of magnitude greater than the investor’s initial investment, the wrongful gains that OpenAI and Microsoft have earned – and which Mr. Musk is now entitled to disgorge – are much larger than Mr. Musk’s initial contributions,” Musk argues.

Musk may seek punitive damages and other penalties, including a possible injunction, if the jury finds either company liable, the filing says, without specifying what form any injunction might take.

—Procter & Gamble fell slightly short of the Street’s second-quarter revenue expectations, held back by weak consumer spending in core categories such as U.S. laundry detergent and toilet paper, which overshadowed strength in its beauty products.

That’s rather curious, weakness in the first two.

Adjusted earnings topped targets in a mixed performance for the bellwether consumer goods maker, whose results are seen as an indicator of the industry’s health.

Lower-income households have cut back on spending even on essentials, as they deal with high prices, a tepid labor market and the impact of broader geopolitical uncertainty.

Decline in consumer spending was exacerbated by a government shutdown that delayed payments for food assistance in October and November.

For the three months ending December 31, P&G’s net sales rose about 1% to $22.21 billion, just shy of analysts’ average estimate of $22.28bn.

P&G’s volumes, which fell 1% in the quarter, were well below the typical growth rate of about 3% to 4% across categories in the U.S.

The company has raised prices about 1% across categories in the quarter, in part to offset Trump’s tariffs.

Foreign Affairs

Iran: The number of deaths during widespread protests in Iran now exceeds 5,000, according to the Human Rights Group Activists News Agency on Friday, warning many more were feared dead as the most comprehensive internet blackout in the country’s history crossed the two-week mark.

The number represents a surge of thousands since Saturday, when the fatalities figure crossed the 3,000 level.

The Human Rights Activists New Agency offered the death toll, saying 4,716 were demonstrators, 203 were government-affiliated, 43 were children and 40 were civilians not taking part in the protests.  It added that more than 5,800 people have sustained “severe injuries” and arrests exceed 26,800.

Iran’s government offered its first death toll Wednesday, saying 3,117 people were killed.  It added that 2,427 of the dead were civilians and security forces, with the rest being “terrorists.”  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei said Saturday that “several thousand people” were dead.

As the death toll climbed, hackers on Monday disrupted Iranian state television, the Associated Press reported, to support exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who has called for protests.  One of the graphics included a message to army forces: “Don’t point your weapons at the people.  Join the nation for the freedom of Iran.”

President Trump said over the weekend that it’s “time to look for new leadership” in Iran, after Khamenei put the blame on the U.S. for the regime’s crackdown.

Khamenei said in a Saturday post on X that they had “extinguished the fire of the sedition” but that the U.S. “must be held accountable.”

“We do not intend to lead the country toward war. However, we will not just let go of the criminals inside the country either. Worse than the internal criminals are the international criminals!  We will not let go of them either,” the Iranian leader said.

Trump said aboard Air Force One Thursday night that the U.S. has an “armada” moving closer to the Middle East, “just in case” he wants to take action.

“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said.

Russia/Ukraine: Russia launched a combined drone and missile attack on Ukraine early on Tuesday, knocking out power and heat to thousands of apartment buildings in Kyiv amid freezing temperatures, Ukrainian officials said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Russian attacks cut heating supplies to 5,635 multi-story residential apartment buildings.

Water supplies were disrupted on the left bank of the city of more than 3 million people, he said.

One person was killed in attacks in the wider Kyiv region.

It was the second major attack on the energy sector and other critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital so far this month as temperatures hover well below zero Celsius.

“Thousands of houses are without heating in Kyiv at -15C outside (5F), following Russia’s mass strike overnight,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a message posted on X.

“Putin’s barbaric strike this morning is a wake-up call to world leaders gathering in Davos: support for the Ukrainian people is urgent.”

Sybiha reiterated the call for urgent additional energy assistance, air defense, and interceptors from Ukraine’s allies.

Sunday, Ukrainian drones damaged energy networks in Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, according to Kremlin-installed authorities there.

At the same time, Russia was hammering Ukraine, killing at least two people, as Moscow targeted energy infrastructure in the Odesa region on Sunday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post that repairing the country’s energy system remains challenging, “but we are doing everything we can to restore everything as quickly as possible.”

Last week, Zelensky said more than 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types were used by Russia to strike Ukraine.

“If Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the world’s response should be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor,” Zelensky said.

—In Davos, Zelensky then aimed a blistering speech at Europe after a last-minute meeting with President Trump, which both leaders described as “good,” saying framework documents between the two countries – in hopes of ending the conflict – were nearing the final stages.

After nearly four years of full-scale war, Zelensky described how life in Ukraine felt like the movie “Groundhog Day” with ramped-up attacks coming amid a brutally cold winter. All the while Europe is still unequipped to defend itself against Russia, he said, which has not slowed its assault since 2022.

As a result, Zelensky said, “the backstop of Trump is needed” with no security guarantees functioning without the United States.  He emphasized that Europe needed to be a united force: “Europe should not be a salad of small and middle powers.”

“Europe loves to discuss the future but avoids taking action today, action that defines what kind of future we will have,” Zelensky said in Davos.  “If Putin decides to take Lithuania or strike Poland, who will respond? …Tomorrow you may have to defend your way of life.”

But the Kremlin said the “territorial issue” remains unresolved after President Putin held late-night talks Thursday with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the latest peace plan for ending the war.

There’s “no hope of achieving a long-term settlement” to the war until Russia’s demands for territory in Ukraine are accepted, Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said in an audio recording on Telegram early Friday.  That’s even as he characterized the almost four hours of negotiations in the Kremlin as “exceptionally substantive, constructive.”

Talks are continuing between U.S., Russian and Ukrainian representatives in the United Arab Emirates on Friday and Saturday.

“The question on Donbas is key,” President Zelensky told reporters on Friday. “It will be discussed, as well as the modalities – how the three sides see it – in Abu Dhabi.”

Russia is insisting on securing what it calls the “Anchorage understandings” reached at Putin’s August summit with Trump in Alaska.  That would require Ukraine to turn over the whole of eastern Donetsk, while fighting would be frozen along the current lines of contact in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine rejects demands to withdraw its forces from heavily fortified areas of Donetsk that Putin’s military has failed to occupy in fighting that stretches back to 2014.  U.S. proposals have suggested turning the unoccupied area into a de-militarized or free economic zone under special administration.

—

Greenland: As it all went down this week…start to finish….

On Saturday, President Trump announced a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries starting Feb. 1, rising to 25% in June, unless there’s a deal for a “purchase of Greenland.”

In a lengthy Truth Social post at 11:19 AM Saturday morning announcing the tariffs, Trump wrote:

“We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration.  Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back – World Peace is at stake!  China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it. They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently. Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play this game, and very successfully, at that!  Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.  On top of everything else, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown.  This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet.  These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable.  Therefore, it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly and without question.  Starting on February 1st, 2026, all of the above mentioned Countries…will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America.  On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%.  This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland. The United States has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years.  Many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused. Now, because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important.  Hundreds of Billions of Dollars are currently being spent on Security Programs having to do with ‘The Dome,’ including for the possible protection of Canada, and this very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes, and bounds, if the Land is included in it. The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades.  Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the tariff “unacceptable,” plans to request that the EU activate its most powerful retaliation tool.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent amplified Trump’s message to European allies that the U.S. won’t back down on taking over Greenland, saying the continent is too weak to ensure its security.

Bessent all but dismissed European Union threats to halt a tariff deal reached between Trump and the bloc last year, telling NBC News that the president is using strategic leverage to get what he wants.

“First of all, the trade deal hasn’t been finalized, and an emergency action can be very different from another trade deal,” Bessent said on “Meet the Press.”  Trump “leverages his emergency powers to do this,” he said.

Bessent laid out an expansive rationale for Trump’s bid for Greenland, citing global competition in the Arctic, Trump’s plan for a “Golden Dome” missile shield and Europe’s previous reliance on Russian energy that he said was “funding Russia’s efforts against Ukraine.”

Asked whether Trump’s stance toward Europe is a negotiating tactic, Bessent signaled the president wouldn’t change his mind.

“Europeans project weakness, U.S. projects strength,” he said.  “The president believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the U.S.”

With some European leaders suggesting that a move to take Greenland would spell the end of NATO after more than seven decades, Bessent said that’s “a false choice.”

“The European leaders will come around and they will understand that they need to be under the U.S. security umbrella,” he told NBC.

The eight European countries targeted by Trump warned in a joint statement that his threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

The unusually strong statement from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland said troops sent to Greenland for operation “Arctic Endurance” pose “no threat to anyone.”

“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,” the group said.  “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind.  Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a social media post: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.  Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity.”

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, astronaut and Arizona Democrat, wrote on social media: “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”

The tariff announcement also drew blowback from Trump’s populist allies in Europe.

Italy’s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake.”

Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and a European parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”

Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties – including the hard-right Reform UK party – all of whom criticized the tariff threat.

“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t.  These tariffs will hurt us,” said Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the tariffs announcement was “completely wrong” and his government would “be pursuing this directly with the U.S. government.”

EU lawmakers are poised to halt approval of the EU’s trade deal with the U.S. over President Trump’s vow to impose tariffs on the eight countries.

Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament, said on Saturday that agreement with the U.S. is no longer possible.

“The EPP is in favor of the EU-U.S. trade deal, but given Donald Trump’s threats regarding Greenland, approval is not possible at this stage,” Weber posted on social media.  He added that the EU agreement to lower tariffs on “U.S. products must be put on hold.”

President Trump on Truth Social, late Sunday PM:

“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland.’  Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it.  Now it is time, and it will be done!!! President Donald J. Trump”

In a written message to Norway’s prime minister Trump said he no longer feels obligated ‘to think purely of Peace’ because he had not been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and he repeated his demand for control of Greenland.

The note, shared widely with other nations by the U.S. administration, was in response to a brief message to Trump from Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and Finnish President Alexander Stubb opposing his decision to impose tariffs on European allies over their refusal to let the U.S. take control of Greenland, Stoere said in a statement.

In their message, Stoere and Stubb pointed to the need to de-escalate the rhetoric and requested a phone call with Trump, the Norwegian premier’s statement said.  Trump’s response came only a short time after they had sent their message.

“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in his response.

Trump has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded last year to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

“I have several times explained clearly to Trump the well-known fact that it is an independent Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government, which awards the prize.”

Machado then gave Trump her gold medal at the White House last week, though the Norwegian Nobel Committee has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.

In his message to Stoere, Trump also again questioned Danish sovereignty over Greenland, saying: “Denmark cannot protect the land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway?”

“There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”

Danish sovereignty over the vast, mineral-rich island is documented in a series of binding legal instruments including a treaty agreed to in 1814.  The U.S. has repeatedly recognized that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Trump concluded his message to Stoere:

“I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.  Thank you! President DJT.”

Around 985 AD, Vikings led by Erik the Red settled in southern Greenland, which had been inhabited by Inuit peoples from Asia and North America.  The Inuit became the dominant culture, pushing out Viking settlers around 1400.

Denmark colonized Greenland in the 18th century when missionary Hans Egede arrived in 1721, marking the start of the colonial era. A statue of Egede still stands on a hilltop in the capital Nuuk’s harbor, seen by many Greenlanders as a symbol of lost Inuit traditions.

In 1916, the United States bought the Danish West Indies – now the U.S. Virgin Islands – for $25 million in gold. As part of that treaty, Washington declared it would not object to the Danish government extending its “political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland,” formally recognizing Danish sovereignty.

Greenland shifted from colony to formal territory in 1953 under Denmark’s constitution, and any sale would require a constitutional amendment.  Since 2009, Greenland can declare independence through a self-rule process requiring a referendum and Danish parliamentary approval.

The U.S. military base at Pituffik in northwest Greenland is the result of a 1951 agreement granting freedom to build bases with Danish and Greenlandic notification.

As I’ve noted before, the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via Greenland, making it important for the U.S. ballistic missile early-warning system.

Currently there is little evidence that a large number of Chinese and Russian ships sail near Greenland’s coasts. Shipping data shows most Chinese shipping in Arctic waters is in the Pacific Arctic and Northern Sea Route near Russia.  Most Russian shipping in the Arctic is around Russia’s own coast, though analysts say Russian submarines do often travel the waters between Greenland, Iceland and Britain.

It’s true the Arctic is becoming increasingly militarized with NATO states, China and Russia all expanding activity there.

—Monday, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbell said Trump’s threat to annex Greenland is a red line for the EU and the 27-nation bloc should consider using a legal mechanism designed to repel economic coercion.

“We are constantly experiencing new provocations, we are constantly experiencing new antagonism, which President Trump is seeking, and here we Europeans must make it clear that the limit has been reached,” Klingbill said in Berlin alongside his French counterpart.

“There is a legally established European toolbox that can respond to economic blackmail with very sensitive measures, and we should now examine the use of these measures,” added Klingbell, who is also Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s vice chancellor.

Early Tuesday, 12:26 AM, Trump posted on Truth Social:

“I had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland. I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back – On that, everyone agrees!  The United States of America is the most powerful Country anywhere on the Globe, by far.  Much of the reason for this is a rebuilding of our Military during my First Term, which rebuilding continues at even more expedited pace.  We are the only POWER that can ensure PEACE throughout the World – And it is done, quite simply, through STRENGTH! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”

On Tuesday Trump also threatened to impose 200% tariffs on French wines and champagne after President Macron was reported to be unwilling to join his “Board of Peace” on Gaza.

Addressing reporters, Trump also referred again to Denmark’s historical claims over Greenland, Trump said the Danish leaders were “very good people,” but argued that a centuries-old presence did not confer ownership.

“[Just] because the boat went there 500 years ago and then left, that doesn’t give you title to property.”  It was not clear what “boat” Trump was referring to.

So, Wednesday in Davos, President Trump in his speech to European leaders ruled out using force to take over Greenland, but threatened European leaders with economic consequences if they did not promote American interests.  Trump demanded ownership of the island.

He said repeatedly that the United States needed Greenland for national security purposes. He said that only the United States was strong enough to defend Greenland from external threats, and that defending it made sense only if the United States owned it, as opposed to leased it.

Trump called for “immediate negotiations” to discuss transfer of ownership of the island to the U.S. from Denmark and derided European countries as unsightly and dependent on the United States.  “Without us, most of the countries don’t even work,” Trump said.

“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” Trump said.  “But I won’t do that. That’s probably the biggest news because people thought I would use force.  I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.  All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”

A few breaths later, though, Trump issued explicit and implicit threats to European leaders if they did not grant his ownership wishes.  He reminded the audience that he had unilaterally taxed imports to the United States from countries across Europe and beyond, having already threatened to increase tariffs on Denmark and several European countries that have defended Danish ownership of the island.

Trump threatened Denmark and Greenlanders with retaliation for failure to comply: “So we want a piece of ice for world protection.  And they won’t give it.  They have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no.  We will remember.”

When it comes to NATO, “no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” said Trump.  He also told the audience, “Without us, right now you’d all be speaking German” – the actual main language of Switzerland.  “Until the last few days when I told [NATO] about Iceland, they loved me.  They called me daddy,” Trump said, mixing up Iceland and Greenland for the umpteenth time this week.

During his rambling speech, Trump took turns praising and deriding Europe for its policies, including its turn toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar.  He said that European economies and security would collapse without American support.

And then Wednesday afternoon at 2:27 PM, the president posted on Truth Social:

“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.  Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.  Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress.  Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations – They will report directly to me.  Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

U.S. stocks soared with the news, including Trump’s earlier acknowledgement in the morning he wasn’t going to use force.

Secretary General Rutte said a breakthrough was secured with Trump without discussing the territory’s sovereignty.  The discussion centered on regional security in a “practical sense” – and how to prevent Russia and China from accessing the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

“When it comes to the protection of the Arctic, with a priority on Greenland, we have to spend more energy, more time, more focus on this because we know the sea lanes are opening up,” Rutte said in an interview with Bloomberg. An American military presence was also not discussed, he said, though Denmark is “completely open” to an increased U.S. presence.

We now await the details, though the agreement offers a respite for European leaders, who were seeking to build consensus for the retaliatory action if Trump had opted to move forward with his tariff threats.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen echoed Rutte’s comments, earlier saying that sovereignty was not a negotiable issue for Denmark.

“We can negotiate on all political matters – security, investments, the economy,” Frederiksen said in a statement.  “But we cannot negotiate our sovereignty.”

“I have been informed that this was also not the case,” the premier said.

While details are indeed lacking, recent negotiations have centered on proposals to increase NATO’s presence in the Arctic, give American sovereign claim to pockets of Greenland’s territory and block potentially hostile adversaries from mining the island’s minerals.

The early proposals under discussion would stop short of Trump’s goal of transferring ownership of all of Greenland to the U.S., and any agreement over pieces of territory need Denmark’s approval, but the 1951 pact signed between Denmark and the U.S. will be a guidepost.  NATO officials have discussed expanding it with a new agreement that would create pockets of American soil in the territory, which could be part of the Golden Dome project.

In comments at week’s end, Denmark’s Frederiksen posted on social media: “We can negotiate on everything political; security, investments, economy.  But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty.”

NATO officials conceded they were “at the very early stage” of creating a framework for securing the Arctic and Greenland.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday: “We will protect Denmark, Greenland, the north, from the threat posed by Russia.  We will uphold the principles on which the trans-Atlantic partnership is founded, namely sovereignty and territory. We support talks between Denmark, Greenland, the United States on the basis of these principles.”

European Union lawmakers announced they are expected to vote on ratifying the bloc’s trade deal with the U.S., restarting the process after Trump’s initial threat to impose tariffs.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said during a press conference Thursday that the terms of the agreement are unclear and asserted Greenland and Denmark’s primacy in any decision making.

“Nobody else than Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark have the mandate to make deals or agreements about Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark without us. That’s not going to happen,” Nielsen said.

President Trump, while returning to Washington last night, declined to tell reporters more details about the deal, but he said more would be revealed in about two weeks.  He asserted everyone is pleased with the plan.

“I think everyone likes it,” he said.

Opinion…pre-Trump’s speech….

Editorial / Wall Street Journal

“For more than 75 years, the fondest dream of Russian strategy has been to divide Western Europe from the U.S. and break the NATO alliance. That is now a possibility as President Trump presses his campaign to capture Greenland no matter what the locals or its Denmark owner thinks.

“Mr. Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 10% tariff starting Feb. 1 on a handful of European countries that have opposed his attempt to obtain U.S. sovereignty over Greenland. The tariff would jump to 25% on June 1. Presumably this tariff would come on top of the rates Mr. Trump already negotiated in trade deals last year (10% for Britain, 15% for the European Union).

The targets are Denmark (which owns Greenland), Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom.  All participated in a recent military exercise on the world’s largest island that was intended to reassure Washington that Europe wants to work with the U.S. to defend Greenland from Russia and China.

“But Mr. Trump isn’t talking alliance cooperation for an answer.  He wants the U.S. to own Greenland, its ice, minerals, strategic location and 56,000 residents.  And he seems prepared to push around everyone else to get it.

“There are good reasons for Washington to care about Greenland, including the island’s strategic position and untapped reserves of rare-earth minerals.  Mr. Trump isn’t the first President to suggest buying it outright, but the U.S. already has a high degree of access to the island and Denmark is willing to negotiate more.  Tariffs in the cause of bullying imperialism is the wrong way to make a deal, and they might stiffen opposition on the island and in Europe.

“Mr. Trump is taking reckless risk with the NATO alliance that advances U.S. interests in the arctic.  If he doesn’t believe us, he can look up Norway, Sweden and Finland in an atlas. The latter two joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization recently, and already are discovering that with Mr. Trump no good strategic deed goes unpunished.

“The economics are nonsensical too.  All of the countries on his tariff list except for the United Kingdom are members of the European Union with a common trade policy.  This means any tariff he imposes on those countries will have to extend to the entire 27-member bloc.  So much for the trade deals Mr. Trump negotiated to great fanfare last year with the EU and the U.K.

“Members of the European Parliament, which still must approve of the U.S.-EU agreement, are threatening to put that pact on ice. This bullying plays poorly with the European public, making it harder for politicians to give Mr. Trump what he wants on Greenland or anything else.  The message to these countries is that no deal with Mr. Trump can be trusted because he’ll blow it up if he feels it serves his larger political purposes….

“No one should underestimate the shock his Greenland project is producing among allies.  Along with his tariffs and his tilt toward Russia against Ukraine, he is alienating Western Europe in a way that will be hard to repair.  It’s true that Europe may not be in a position to resist if Mr. Trump really wants to go to war over the island.  But say good-bye to NATO.

“The sad irony is that China and Russia may be the biggest winners, though Mr. Trump justifies his Greenland necessity in the name of deterring both.  Canada’s Prime Minister bent the knee to Xi Jinping this past week, and Britain’s PM is heading there this month. The EU and South American countries have struck a big free-trade pact. [Ed. now on hold per the above.]

“The West is in the process of a diplomatic and economic hedging operation against Mr. Trump’s might-makes-right diplomacy. Whether or not Mr. Trump believes it, the U.S. needs friends in the world. He seems to think that if he captures Greenland, history will remember him as another Thomas Jefferson (Louisiana purchase) or William Seward (Alaska). The cost of his afflatus to U.S. interests will be greater than he imagines.”

Editorial / Washington Post

“Without firing a shot or breaking up NATO, Trump hopes to bully and cajole Denmark into selling a swath of its kingdom that is geographically larger than Mexico.  Trump, a developer at heart, sees this as a potential crown jewel for his legacy. Such an acquisition would be slightly larger than President Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase.  U.S. planners reportedly estimate that purchasing Greenland could cost up to $700 billion, though economic coercion may lower the price tag, as does the U.S. refusing to rule out using the military to take it by force.

“But Denmark insists it will never sell, and Trump’s behavior is already exacting an intangible price on the transatlantic relationship.  The eight countries put out a joint statement on Sunday to say Trump’s ‘tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.’  They downplayed the small contingents of troops they sent to Greenland, saying it was part of a preplanned exercise called ‘Arctic Endurance’ that ‘poses no threat to anyone.’

“It sure doesn’t.  The French sent 15 mountain infantrymen. The Fins and Norwegians sent two officers apiece. The Brits sent one office, and he was not James Bond.

“But Trump reacted angrily, and now Americans will pay higher prices for products like Legos and Ozempic, both made by Danish companies.  French President Emmanuel Macron wants the European Union to retaliate by invoking anti-coercion rules, imposing tariffs on U.S. goods and blocking U.S. investment.  The E.U. is preparing a package of tariffs on U.S. products that could raise 93 billion euros, effectively a tax hike on European consumers.

“The president and his allies are increasingly making the case that Greenland is strategically vital and resource rich, but America already has easy access. The Space Force maintains a base there.  Denmark has been a particularly strong, committed and inoffensive partner. The Danes suffered one of the highest per capita fatality rates in supporting America’s military response to the 9/11 attacks.

“Most of Greenland’s 57,000 residents, who receive subsidies and the largesse of a European welfare state, don’t want to be sold to America, despite past mistreatment by the Danes. If anything, they want independence. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined a Saturday protest to oppose any sale to the United States.

“Finally, there is the legal question of whether Trump even has the authority to impose his threatened tariffs without an act of Congress. The Supreme Court will hopefully decide soon that the president is abusing his power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which does not even mention the word tariffs.  Pressed Sunday on what emergency justifies imposing import taxes on European goods in pursuit of Greenland, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent replied: ‘The national emergency is avoiding the national emergency.’”

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal

“As the Arctic grows more crucial, one superpower or another is going to lay claim to ‘ownership.’  Mr. Trump is correct to want it to be the U.S.  He’s been clear in objectives: He wants to use the territory for space defense programs.  He wants a heightened military presence and surveillance of Russian and Chinese naval activity. And he wants access to Greenland’s critical minerals, to help break China’s global stranglehold.

“Here’s the cool bit: Denmark has essentially told him to have at it. Mr. Trump’s maximum-pressure campaign – bolstered by the threat of annexation – quickly focused minds. The Danes, and Greenland officials, have gone in a remarkably short time from hostility to outreach, promising more investment, more cooperation, more access, more deals.  They’ve already announced an expanded ‘military presence in and around Greenland’ that involves ‘aircraft, vessels and soldiers, including from NATO allies.’….

“Yet somewhere in the drum-banging Mr. Trump amped himself up into this week’s declaration that ‘anything less’ than Greenland ‘in the hands’ of the U.S. ‘is unacceptable.’  ‘One way or another, we’re going to have Greenland,’ he insisted.  And so it is that the U.S. is scorning an offer of near-free rein, out of annoyance at the lack of formal closing papers. It isn’t enough to have Greenland submit; it must become the 51st state (or maybe 54th, depending on Canada, Mexico and the Panama Canal zone) – and like it.

“To what benefit?  Putting aside the feelings of the Greenlanders – who rightly resent being voluntold for statehold – the risks likely outweigh any rewards.  Formal annexation of Greenland would make Russia’s day, a green light for Vladimir Putin to unleash his next round of conquest.  Russia would recommit to its Ukrainian land grabs, expand control in Georgia and Moldova, and potentially take action against the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, where tensions are already rising.  It could also poison rapidly expanding European alliances for increased Arctic control….

“Simple agreements with Greenland would give the U.S. vital national-security advantages and access to considered resource deals.  Ownership would give the U.S. responsibility not only for the purchase prices, but for forever subsidies (Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security), disaster aid, infrastructure, hospitals, public works, you name it – destined for a country with vast, inhospitable territory, and with a highly concentrated, vulnerable economy.

“Some of this may be ego.  Mr. Trump seems at times to be wishcasting himself as James Monroe, Williams H. Seward and James K. Polk, fixated on the next great territorial expansion, 21st-century MAGA style.  Some of this may be poorly considered management decisions, as in the choice to give a key role in talks to Mr. Vance, who riles Europeans and can be found in a thesaurus as an antonym for ‘diplomatic.’

“Whatever it is, it’s unnecessary.  Amid true danger in intractable hot spots, this is rhetoric for the sake of bravado.  The U.S. has an open play in Greenland. Take it, move on.”

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times

“Russia and China dreamed that one day something would happen where America would lose its allies and NATO would be fractured. Without economic allies, America could never be as influential in trade negotiations with China, and without America’s military might, NATO would be hard pressed to prevent Russia from retaking parts of Central and Eastern Europe that it lost control over after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

“And then one day their dreams came true.  The American people elected a man who, no matter what he tells us, is taking us to a future not of ‘America first,’ but of ‘America alone’ and ‘Me first.’”

Opinion…post-Trump speech….

Editorial / Wall Street Journal

“Those of a religious bent might accuse stereotypical ‘Davos Man’ – immense fortune, private jet, outrageous hypocrisy, spine-tingling pomposity – of the sin of pride.  In which case President Trump’s speech Wednesday to the World Economic Forum at Davos felt like a form of divine retribution.

“It was a wild day, with Mr. Trump berating Europe even as he said he won’t invade Greenland after all.  America’s allies (and their many friends in the U.S. Congress) have been reeling since Mr. Trump on Saturday threatened to impose tariffs on a handful of countries if they obstruct his effort to buy the arctic island from Denmark.

“What a difference a market rout on Tuesday makes.  U.S. stock indexes soared Wednesday on word that he won’t invade. And they climbed again when several hours later Mr. Trump announced he won’t impose the tariffs after he had reached a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Greenland with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Details to come.

“Yet how embarrassing for Europe in particular.  Mr. Trump pointed out that Denmark and other European allies would struggle to defend Greenland from the U.S. or anyone else.  ‘It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it,’ he said. Which is true.

“This followed a long riff about Europe’s many economic dysfunctions, especially on energy policy.  He referred to the European Union’s flagship Green New Deal climate policies as the ‘green new scam,’ chastised Britain for failing to tap more North Sea oil, and mocked the ‘catastrophic energy collapse which befell every European nation’ in recent years.  Also all true.

“Call it the Davos disconnect.   The bien pensant political and business leaders who show up to these confabs espouse a ‘liberal order’ of democracy and free markets.  But they then rely on the U.S. to enforce their values around the world while also generating sufficient global prosperity to allow them to fund their growth-killing welfare states and climate pieties at the expense of their own militaries.

“As Mr. Trump reminded them, European leaders required sustained U.S. prodding before they ramped up defense spending to provide for their own security.  They depend on the U.S. to lead them in supporting Ukraine as it fends off a Russian invasion that Europe was unable to deter or end.

“Mr. Trump harps to an unhelpful degree on this helplessness, and his insults and bullying threats over Greenland have alienated Europe to a needless extent.  His Greenland threats also aren’t playing well in Congress or with American voters.

“But the barbs hit hard among the Davos crowd because they know they depend on the U.S. more than they’d like, and they know it’s their own fault.  Yet even now that Mr. Trump is calling into question American support for allies, many of them assume the only alternative is to cozy up to China, at least economically.

“Witness Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won plaudits for his Davos speech Tuesday that mourned the end of the ‘rules-based order’ and calling on middle powers such as Canada to form new, realpolitik alliances to stand up to great powers.

“ ‘In a world of great-power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for favor or to combine to create a third path with impact,’ Mr. Carney said – days after he traveled to Beijing to compete for favor from the Communist regime.  Canada, with abundant natural resources including oil and a famously well-educated population, nonetheless has been a habitual defense-spending laggard within NATO (it barely meets the 2%-of-GDP target).  ‘Middle power’ indeed.

“The hypocrisy would be amusing if the deepening rift between the U.S. and its allies weren’t so dangerous.  But China and Russia are watching. They see how easily Mr. Trump can be goaded into antagonizing staunch allies such as NATO partners, and how vulnerable those allies are.  Our enemies would like nothing better than to see Greenland become the cause of a permanent Atlantic rift that blows up NATO.

“They also see how distractible all these parties are.  As NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned Wednesday, the Greenland fiasco is diverting attention from the more urgent problem of Ukraine.

“The West needs statesmen who can settle the Greenland dispute in a way that enhances U.S. security and NATO. Let’s hope Trump’s ‘framework’ begins to close the Davos divide.”

The Journal then issued another editorial Thursday evening. In part….

“The story here isn’t TACO – that Trump always chickens out, in the Wall Street gibe.  It’s that Mr. Trump isn’t all powerful. As a democratic leader in a constitutional republic, he must cope with checks and balances.

“It’s true that on foreign affairs a U.S. President has more running room. He can use military force without the approval of Congress or the courts.  He can try to appease dictators, as Barack Obama and Joe Biden did.  Presidents can do a lot of unilateral damage.

“But Mr. Trump also has to be mindful of the results and the reaction from a variety of constituencies at home and abroad. The collapse of NATO on his watch would be a permanent stain on his presidential legacy. So would a Russian victory in Ukraine.

“Ah, but what about ICE raids in homes against non-criminal migrants, unilateral tariffs, and lawfare against political opponents?  All of these are unwise and harmful to individuals even when they are legal. But when they exceed his legal power, the courts are a check.

“This week a majority of the Supreme Court seems poised to block his firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.  Lindsey Halligan, his choice for U.S. Attorney who issued indictments against Mr. Trump’s enemies, was forced to step down after a judge appointed by Mr. Trump accused her of conducting an illegal ‘charade’ to stay in the job.

“It’s hard to know what Mr. Trump might do next, which feeds public anxiety. But as his popularity ebbs, so does his political capital.  His approval rating has sunk, his mass deportations are seen as excessive, tariffs are unpopular, and even GOP voters disliked his Greenland demands.  Democrats took November’s races in Virginia and New Jersey in a rout.  The GOP House majority is in peril, and the Senate is competitive.  Mr. Trump’s attempts to gerrymander a safer House majority have backfired as Democrats have done the same.

“The ultimate check on power is an election, and on that score Mr. Trump’s bull-dozing governance may be building the opposition that costs his party its majority in November.”

—

Israel/Gaza: Russian President Putin received an invitation to join Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace for Gaza, the Kremlin said.

Putin “received an offer through diplomatic channels” and Russia aims to contact the U.S. side to clarify all the details of the proposal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Trump also extended the invitation to Chinese President Xi and Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko.

Argentine President Javier Milei and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were set to become founding members of the Gaza Committee, while other invitees include Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil’s leader Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.

Several European countries have pushed back against Trump’s requirement that countries that want to be permanent members of the board pay $1 billion, with the money going to efforts to rebuild Gaza.

France’s Emmanuel Macron has come right out of the gate to decline an invitation, citing concerns about the structure of the board acting as a rival to the United Nations Security Council.

Privately, senior European officials are strongly critical of the board.  Several told Bloomberg News they saw it as a clear attempt by Trump to set up a rival or replacement for the United Nations, a body of which he has been a longstanding critic.  They said the board was about far more than the reconstruction of Gaza and that Trump sees it as a vehicle to resolve other conflicts and control international events.

The plan has been criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the details hadn’t been coordinated with his country, and that a “second panel” described in the agreement is comprised of some countries that are too close to Hamas and unlikely to remake the coastal strip as Israel wants.

Trump wanted the full constitution and remit of the committee signed in Davos on Thursday, but some elements of the small print have left invitees wondering whether to accept.

Trump’s demand that nations pay $1 billion for permanent membership of the board, blindsided world leaders and left many bewildered, according to people familiar with the matter.

Much of the concern centers on the wording of the peace board’s charter, which appears to place its ultimate decision-making power with Trump.  That raises many questions – not least over where the payments for long-term membership would go, the people said.

Israel then signed on, Trump holding a signing ceremony Thursday morning in Davos featuring leaders from several other countries who have agreed to join the board.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the country wouldn’t join the board for now over concerns that Russia was invited to join. [At week’s end, Putin was still studying the proposal.]

Thursday night, while flying home from Davos, Trump posted on Truth Social:

“Dear Prime Minister Carney:

Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

What a jerk.

Editorial / Wall Street Journal

“President Trump’s latest notion is a Board of Peace that he is inviting much of the world to join.  He may hold a signing ceremony as early as this week when he holds court at the World Economic Forum in Davos. We’re all for peace-making, but this idea could use some fleshing out.

“Mr. Trump’s original idea for the board was to supervise the later phases of his Gaza peace plan.  Various countries with an interest in Gaza would send representatives to rebuild the territory into a livable place, if not a new Riviera.

“The board will have its hands full disarming Hamas even before it gets to rebuilding Gaza. But inviting Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, as a member of the executive committee was an inspired choice.  Mr. Trump would be the chairman, and the board was approved in November by the United Nations Security Council.

“Yet as the invitations to join have rolled out, Mr. Trump seems to view its mandate as going far beyond Gaza.  Countries around the world with little direct interest in Gaza have received an invitation.  They include Canada, Australia, India, Hungary and Argentina, which are far afield from Gaza.

“Even Russia has received an invitation to join. And so has Belarus, Vladimir Putin’s partner in imperialism. Maybe Mr. Putin should have to stop waging a hot war in Ukraine, and a cold war against Western Europe, before he joins anything with the word peace in the title.  Moscow ‘is studying all the details of the proposal and hopes to contact Washington to clarify all the nuances,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.  So war is now peace?

“A draft of the board’s charter posted by the Times of Israel says there is ‘the need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body’ and calls for ‘a coalition of willing States committed to practical cooperation and effective action.’  Is Mr. Trump thinking about an alternative to the U.N.?

“A coalition of democracies unrestrained by Russian or China vetoes at the U.N. Security Council could do some good. But then there already is such a coalition of the willing. It’s called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has kept the peace in Europe for 75 years and has also helped in the Middle East and in antiterror efforts.  Maybe Mr. Trump should try to preserve NATO rather than blowing it up over Greenland.”

Random Musings

—Presidential approval ratings….

Gallup: 36% approve of President Trump’s job performance, while 59% disapprove.  25% of independents approve (Dec. 1-15).

Rasmussen: 45% approve, 53% disapprove (Jan. 16)

A new Wall Street Journal poll has the president’s job approval rating at 45%, 54% disapproving – a 9-point gap, compared with 6 points in the last Journal survey, in July.

But about half of voters say the economy has gotten worse in the past year, compared with 35% who see improvement.

Trump says he “inherited a mess” from his predecessor, but 58% of voters in the survey said that Trump’s policies were most responsible for the current economy, while 31% said former President Joe Biden’s policies were most responsible.

Asked about the president’s attention to Venezuela, Iran and other countries, a 53% majority says he is focusing on unnecessary foreign matters at the expense of the economy, while 42% say he’s working on urgent national security threats.

Trump does continue to have strong support among his base. Some 92% of people who voted for him in 2024 give him a positive job rating today, including 70% who ‘strongly approve,” the Journal poll shows.

A new CBS News/YouGov poll has Trump with a 41% approval rating, 59% disapproval.

When asked about the Trump administration’s focus on lowering prices, 74% said he is not doing enough, while 23% said it’s the ‘right amount.’

A new New York Times/Siena poll has Trump’s approval rating at 40%, down three points since September. His disapproval rating at 56%.

When asked, “Do you think the country is generally better off than it was a year ago, about the same or worse off?” 32% said better off, 49% worse off, 19% about the same.

Forty percent approve of Trump’s handling the economy, 58% disapprove, and 40% approve of his handling of immigration, and 58% disapprove.

On his handling of the Epstein files, 22% approve, 66% disapprove.

On whether he is too old to serve as president effectively, 58% say he is not, 40% say he is too old.

—Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) is vowing to continue with his reelection bid but is facing the toughest challenge to his political career after Trump weighed in to encourage a primary opponent to run against him.

Trump backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) for the seat in a post on Truth Social over the weekend, calling her a “total winner” and saying she would continue to deliver for Louisiana in the Senate as she has in the House.  Letlow announced her Senate candidacy Tuesday.

“I’m honored to have President Trump’s endorsement and trust.  My mission is clear: to ensure the nation our children inherit is safer and stronger,” she wrote in a post on X.  “This United States Senate seat belongs to the people of Louisiana, because we deserve conservative leadership that will not waver.”

The endorsement comes years after Cassidy was one of a handful of Republicans who broke with their party to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for his conduct leading up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.  Since then, Cassidy has toed a line between criticizing and defending Trump and his administration.

Despite having cast a key vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services last year, Cassidy has become increasingly vocal criticizing Kennedy’s decisions in the role.

Cassidy vowed to stay in the race.

—Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal

“Next week marks the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s second inauguration, so it’s a good time to revisit his essential nature, which appears to drive everything….

“Mr. Trump seeks not to persuade but overpower. There is a daily mood in his administration of finally settling all family business. That of course is a famous line from ‘The Godfather’ and is uttered by Michael Corleone, the smart son, the day he kills the heads of the other mafia families.  ‘Today I settle all family business.’

“Mario Puzo, on whose novel the movie was based, created the iconic three brothers of the film – fiery Sonny, cool and methodical Michael, incapable Fredo.  It is a mainstay of political journalism that a political figure, especially one from a large family, is one of the brothers.

“Mr. Trump in this term is the first president to be all three.  He has a Michael side, but it’s overwhelmed by the Sonny side, and his Fredo side is more than a third of the whole.

“That is what is so exhausting about him (and yes, Trump intellectuals, so capacious, so Shakespearean – in a sense!) and for some horrifying, that he’s all three, and you never know which one is coming to work today.

“Second difference: In his first term Mr. Trump tested boundaries, probing like the proverbial Russian soldier who keeps sticking the bayonet in until he strikes bone.  Now he operates as if he sees no boundaries.  In the first term there was a sense he didn’t quite know what was constitutional and needed to be told.  Now there is the sense he doesn’t really care, that the old parchment may not be equal to the demands of the moment.  (He shares this with populists of the left.)  The thinking: You can’t wait forever for the courts to resolve an issue, for Congress to do the right thing.

“He has been charged with being preoccupied with the world and less so with domestic realities and legislation, things he has to see to and fake enthusiasm for.  There’s truth in it.  The world, he thinks, is where a political figure makes his mark.  He desires a big legacy, still wants to show Manhattan (not to be too reductive, but there’s still something in it) that the outer-borough kid you patronized became a world-historic figure you ignored because you couldn’t recognize innate genius, and because you looked down on your country’s own popular culture, not noticing he was rising like a rocket within it. He’s wowed them now.  I wonder if his victory is fully satisfying.  The people he was once trying to impress aren’t there anymore, it was all half a century ago, they’re gone.  Do you feel the full joy of revenge when you’re triumphing over ghosts?

“A thing that many Trump opponents don’t say but feel: The idea of Trump as president is still so shocking that they can’t believe the American people did it.  They don’t really care about ‘the reasons’ or how others were experiencing America, whose ox the past few decades was being gored.  They’re mad, and they think less of their countrymen now.  They don’t really like them anymore and don’t feel they have to.

“A thing many Trump supporters don’t say but feel: They enjoy the suffering they’ve caused, and not only because they’re in charge of the ship now. Also because many of those who have been dealt the mortification were comparatively affluent and accomplished.  What Trump supporters felt toward them was social and professional envy.  Trumpism gave this flaw a new carapace of meaning, a political rationale that lifted it out of pure and eternal human spite.

“The most American thing in the world is to be born and immediately seek to rise.  The second most American thing is to find reasons to resent those who rose.

“They don’t resent Mr. Trump because he was born into wealth. They’d like to be wealthy too. And he never allowed it to make him classy. He stayed regular.

“We are a complicated country.”

–Bloomberg News reported that the Army has once again missed its own deadline for fielding the first U.S. hypersonic weapon, in a sign that one of the Pentagon’s top priorities is still behind schedule.

The unit responsible for using the advanced weapon is trained and ready, but the missile – part of a $10.4 billion hypersonic program – isn’t ready for use.  And while the Army as recently as last month told Bloomberg that it planned to field the weapon by the end of 2025, the Army acknowledged this week that it missed that deadline.

“Fielding activities include the required integration, safety, and readiness steps to ensure soldiers receive a system that is reliable, sustainable, and effective in operational environments and are on track for completion in early 2026,” the Army statement said.  “As the Army moves toward completion of fielding, it remains focused on rigorous testing, training, and system maturity to support successful operational employment.”

As Bloomberg noted: “(This is) a cautionary tale for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he emphasizes fielding weapons quickly and pursues a complete upending of the Pentagon’s often lumbering, risk-adverse acquisition process.

“The Army on Dec. 17 announced ‘a significant advancement of its military capabilities’ when it activated a battery that operates the hypersonic missile, which is known as Dark Eagle.  It didn’t mention at the time that the missiles weren’t ready.”

The Pentagon has invested more than $12 billion since 2018 in an attempt to develop, test and deploy a hypersonic system.

As you know, China and Russia already deploy new hypersonic projectiles, with Russia using them in Ukraine.  It should concern our leaders greatly that the United States doesn’t have the capability as yet.

–Separately, but regarding the military, the British government on Tuesday defended its decision to hand sovereignty the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after President Trump attacked the plan, which his administration had previously supported.

Trump said that relinquishing the remote Indian Ocean archipelago, home to a strategically important American naval and bomber base, was an act of stupidity that shows why he needs to take over Greenland.

“Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOVER,” he said in a post on Truth Social.  “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”

“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump said.

The United Kingdom and Mauritius signed a deal in May to give Mauritius sovereignty over the islands, though the UK will lease back Diego Garcia where the U.S. base is located, for at least 99 years.

The Trump administration welcomed the agreement at the time, saying it ‘secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-UK military facility at Diego Garcia.”

UK Cabinet Minister Darren Jones said Tuesday that the agreement would “secure that military base for the next 100 years.”

But the move has met strong opposition from British opposition parties, who argue that giving up the islands, which have been British territory for two centuries, puts them at risk of interference by China and Russia.

The U.S. has described the Diego Garcia base, which is home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, as “an all but indispensable platform” for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.

France ceded the Chagos Islands to Britain in 1814.  Britain split the islands away from Mauritius, a former British colony, in 1965, and evicted as many as 2,000 people from the islands so the U.S. could build the Diego Garcia base.

—The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted to hold former President Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt for refusing subpoenas to testify in the committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

The resolutions passed the committee comfortably Wednesday, with a 34-8 vote for the former president and a 28-15 vote for the former first lady.  All Republicans voted for both resolutions, while nine Democrats voted for the former and three Democrats voted for the latter.

The Clintons deserve this.

—Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and four other state and local officials received subpoenas from the Department of Justice on Tuesday as the federal investigation into alleged obstruction of immigration enforcement escalates.

Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey(D), who also received a subpoena, have engaged in a back-and-forth with the White House and DOJ for the past few weeks following the killing of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer this month.

Walz and Frey have repeatedly called on immigration officials to leave the state as ICE has surged officers into Minnesota, specifically the Twin Cities.

Subpoenas were also sent to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), the office of St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her (D) and Hennepin County, where the Twin Cities are located.

“We are a long way from Civil War, but the Minnesota National Guard is now wearing bright green vests to distinguish them from ‘other agencies,’” noted Robert Pape, director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats at the University of Chicago. “This is now ‘us’ versus ‘them’ combat forces.”

“Trump is taking [the] U.S. to a very dark place,” Pape said, adding that it’s “Crucial that the [Minnesota National] Guard and ICE do not clash.”

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said this week in Davos, that while the president’s tough stance on immigration has sparked a national debate, Dimon said he was angry at the Biden administration for leaving policies too loose and failing to secure the border.

“Trump comes in, boom, it’s closed.  God bless him,” Dimon said.  “Countries have to control their borders or they will cause huge problems.”

But the CEO did take issue with ICE’s harsh tactics, such as in Minneapolis.

“I don’t like what I’m seeing with five grown men beating up little women,” Dimon said. “I think we should calm down a little on the internal anger about immigration.”

—Former U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who unsuccessfully prosecuted President Trump, told the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that Trump was “looking for ways to stay in power” following his defeat in the 2020 elections as he confronted Republican criticism of his investigation.

The Trump DOJ will go after him now.

—The death toll rose to 45 people today in southern Spain after a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming one on Sunday night in one of the worst railway accidents in Europe in the past 80 years.

The accident happened near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba (about 220 miles south of Madrid).  Over 150 were injured, with 48 hospitalized and 12 in critical care, according to emergency services.

“The train tipped to one side…then everything went dark, and all I heard was screams,” said Ana, a young woman who was travelling back to Madrid and was being treated at a Red Cross center.

“There were people who were fine and others who were very, very badly injured.  You had them right in front of you and you knew they were going to die, and you couldn’t do anything,” she said.

–Data collected from 35 American cities showed a 21% decrease in the homicide rate from 2024 to 2025, according to a new report from the Independent Council on Criminal Justice.

The report, released Thursday, tracked 13 crimes and recorded drops last year in 11 of those categories, including carjackings, shoplifting, aggravated assaults and others.  Drug crimes saw a small increase over last year and sexual assaults stayed even between 2024 and 2025, the study found.

Experts said cities and states beyond those surveyed showed similar declines in homicides and other crimes.  But they said it’s too early to tell what is prompting the change, though, as you can imagine, both Republican and Democrat officials are taking credit.

—At least 230 new measles cases have been reported in South Carolina this week, as the outbreak continues to surge, with 700 infections recorded in the state since October, officials say.

State health officials say over 480 people are in quarantine after being exposed to the virus.

The outbreak – the worst since Texas reported more than 700 measles cases in 2025 – puts the U.S. at risk of losing its measles elimination status.

Dozens of students at Clemson University are apparently quarantined.

South Carolina’s outbreak is centered in the northwestern town of Spartanburg, where the measles vaccination rate for school-aged children is about 90% in Spartanburg County, overall, and for herd immunity, you need around 95% of the population to have taken the shots.

The past 12 months have marked the worst measles outbreaks in the U.S. in decades, with over 2,000 infections.  Three people died in Texas.

–I wrote the other day about snowfall in Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula and I saw this week that it received over 6 ½ feet of snow in the first half of January after receiving around 12 feet in December, according to Reuters.

It’s the heaviest snowfall in the area for the last 60 years….as a large part of the United States experiences a potential foot of snow this weekend.  And good luck to my friends having to deal with the ice in the South and Mid-Atlantic.  As Michael Conrad (Sgt. Phil Esterhaus) used to say on “Hill Street Blues,” “Let’s be careful out there….”

—

Pray for the men and women of our armed forces…and all the fallen.

Slava Ukraini.

God bless America.

—

Gold $4982…Silver $102.35….
Oil $61.16

Bitcoin $89,400 [4:00 PM ET, Friday]…lousy week….

Regular Gas: $2.86; Diesel: $3.55 [$3.13 – $3.68 yr. ago]

Returns for the week 1/19-1/23

Dow Jones  -0.5%  [49098]
S&P 500  -0.4%  [6915]
S&P MidCap  -0.6%
Russell 2000  -0.3%
Nasdaq  -0.1%  [23501]

Returns for the period 1/1/26-1/23/26

Dow Jones  +2.2%
S&P 500  +1.0%
S&P MidCap  +5.5%
Russell 2000  +7.5%
Nasdaq  +1.1%

Bulls 59.6
Bears 15.4

Hang in there.

Brian Trumbore