market

Most Asian markets rise after Trump AI pledge but China tariff woes return

  • Traders have been bracing for Trump 2.0 since his re-election in November, with an initial rally -- fuelled by hopes for market-boosting measures -- giving way to worries he would resume his trade war with Beijing and also target others.
  • Most Asian markets extended a global rally Wednesday as investors gave a cautious welcome to Donald Trump's first full day in office amid hopes he will take a more cautious approach on trade than initially feared.
  • Traders have been bracing for Trump 2.0 since his re-election in November, with an initial rally -- fuelled by hopes for market-boosting measures -- giving way to worries he would resume his trade war with Beijing and also target others.
Most Asian markets extended a global rally Wednesday as investors gave a cautious welcome to Donald Trump's first full day in office amid hopes he will take a more cautious approach on trade than initially feared.
Software investment giant SoftBank soared more than nine percent -- leading Tokyo-listed chipmakers higher -- after the American president said it was included in a new $500-billion venture to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence in the United States.
However, Hong Kong and Shanghai fell after the tycoon warned China could be included in a list of countries to be hit with tariffs on February 1 "based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada".
Traders have been bracing for Trump 2.0 since his re-election in November, with an initial rally -- fuelled by hopes for market-boosting measures -- giving way to worries he would resume his trade war with Beijing and also target others.
There is also a concern that his plans to slash taxes, immigration and regulations will reignite inflation and crimp the Federal Reserve's ability to cut interest rates.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was the standout performer Wednesday, piling on more than one percent thanks to SoftBank's advance fuelled by news that it will be part of the Stargate venture along with cloud giant Oracle and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
The project "will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States" Trump said at the White House.
Japanese chipmakers also rose, with Advantest up more than four percent, while Tokyo Electron and Lasertec gained more than two percent.
Taipei also enjoyed a big jump, with chip titan and market heavyweight TSMC up more than two percent, while Seoul was also helped by big gains in SK hynix and LS Electric.
There were also gains in Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Manila.
But Hong Kong lost more than one percent after a six-day run-up as concerns China will be hit with fresh tariffs dealt a blow to confidence. Shanghai also took a hefty hit.

'No winners'

There had been optimism that Beijing would avoid being targeted in an early flurry of duties by the White House after Trump said Monday he would hit Canada and Mexico. 
But he broadened his targets Tuesday to include China and the European Union.
When asked how soon these tariffs could be enacted, he said: "Probably February 1 is the date we're looking at."
The comments come after Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that "protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war". 
China saw record exports in 2024, with observers saying they were likely boosted at the end of the year by companies ramping up stockpiles ahead of Trump's second term.
"China will still need to brace for potential tariffs and that’s going to slow down exports this year," Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg TV. 
The broader gains in Asia came after another rally on Wall Street and records for London and Frankfurt.
"Investors are now cautiously optimistic, focusing on the US's robust economic indicators, strong earnings reports, and the prospect of lower borrowing costs and increased capital inflows," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
"This blend of factors is expected to propel US stocks higher throughout 2025, barring any unexpected trade escalations.
"In sum, the delay in imposing new tariffs has been widely regarded as a significant positive for markets."
The yen eased slightly after edging higher recently on expectations the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates at its meeting on Friday.
Oil prices stabilised after tumbling Tuesday in reaction to Trump's announcement of a "national energy emergency" to ramp up drilling in the United States.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 39,604.71 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 19,821.12
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,214.00
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0412 from $1.0426 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2336 from $1.2342
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.67 yen from 155.50 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.41 pence from 84.45 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $75.73 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $79.27 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 44,025.81 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,548.29 (close)
dan/lb

politics

As Trump takes aim at EVs, how far will rollback go?

BY JOHN BIERS

  • The Biden administration's fuel economy rules required automakers to market fleets with sharply lower carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to address climate change, while laws such as the $400 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included a slew of lending and tax credit programs to boost EVs.  Programs under the IRA and the 2021 infrastructure law are in various stages of implementation.
  • As part of his flurry of first-day actions, US President Donald Trump took aim at electric vehicles, a cornerstone of the Biden administration's climate change agenda.
  • The Biden administration's fuel economy rules required automakers to market fleets with sharply lower carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to address climate change, while laws such as the $400 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included a slew of lending and tax credit programs to boost EVs.  Programs under the IRA and the 2021 infrastructure law are in various stages of implementation.
As part of his flurry of first-day actions, US President Donald Trump took aim at electric vehicles, a cornerstone of the Biden administration's climate change agenda.
Trump's executive order on "Unleashing American Energy" on Monday included steps to ensure a "level" playing field for gasoline-powered motors and halt federal funding to build new EV charging stations.
The executive order also appeared to presage other reversals, referencing the possible elimination of a federal tax credit for EV purchases and the renouncement of a US waiver that allows California to set stricter requirements on cars.
During his inaugural address, Trump said the moves would "end" the "Green New Deal," ridiculing Biden-backed incentives for EV sales.
While Trump harshly criticized EVs during the presidential campaign, policy experts have been skeptical Trump will junk all the Biden-era EV programs, in part because significant federal funding has gone toward projects in Republican congressional districts, where thousands of jobs are expected to be created.
Shares of EV makers like Rivian and EV charging companies such as EVgo fell sharply Tuesday. Tesla, which is led by close Trump ally Elon Musk, also fell.
Kathy Harris, director for clean vehicles of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called Trump's policy a sop for "fat-cat oil executives," noting that EVs are better for the environment and can save consumers money on gasoline.
Many of Trump's executive orders are expected to face legal challenges, a possible outcome for the EV measures.
"This is not the end of this story," Harris said. "If the administration tries to cut corners or ignore the law, they will end up in court."
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which has previously endorsed the need for stable auto rules, reiterated its criticism of California's car regulations in a statement that did not address other elements in Trump's executive order.
"The country should have a single, national standard to reduce carbon in transportation," said the group's president, John Bozzella. "We can't have regulations that push the industry too far ahead of the customer."

90-day review

The new policy comes as automakers pause some EV investments due to slowing growth, even as sales of emission-free vehicles climb to new levels in the United States.
In 2024, EV sales in the country reached 1.3 million, up 7.3 percent from the prior year, according to Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book, which pointed to a meaningful rise in EVs at different price levels.
But GM, Ford and other automakers have scaled back some EV investments in recent months, pointing to slowing demand growth. A Ford executive warned in November that a glut of EVs across showrooms will lead to "incredible pressure" on prices in 2025.
The broadside against EVs followed Trump's targeting of the vehicles during the presidential campaign, when he claimed Democrat Kamala Harris wanted to force EVs on consumers.
Harris said that she favored consumer choice. 
The Biden administration's fuel economy rules required automakers to market fleets with sharply lower carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to address climate change, while laws such as the $400 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included a slew of lending and tax credit programs to boost EVs. 
Programs under the IRA and the 2021 infrastructure law are in various stages of implementation. Monday's executive order directs officials implementing the IRA to undertake a 90-day review to ensure that spending does not unfairly favor EVs "by rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable."
Policy experts see no meaningful chance that the new administration will try to claw back US funds that have already been spent. But whether Trump will seek to block other projects that are still moving through the pipeline is less clear. 
Nearly half of the $5 billion set aside for new EV chargers has been allocated to states under the infrastructure law, according to a memo from NRDC. 
The 2021 infrastructure law's "embedded safeguards... should ensure continuity for infrastructure investments," the NRDC said. "Of course, the incoming administration could try drastic measures, but those will face real-world and legal hurdles."
In November, the Energy Department advanced projects to provide Rivian a $6.6 billion federal loan to build an EV manufacturing facility in Stanton Springs North, Georgia, and a $7.5 billion loan to StarPlus Energy to finance lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plants in Kokomo, Indiana, under a Stellantis-Samsung joint venture.
Construction on the Georgia plant is expected to begin in 2026, according to Rivian.
Neither Rivian nor Stellantis responded to AFP queries on the implications of the new Trump policy for their projects.
jmb/nro

California

No home, no insurance: The double hit from Los Angeles fires

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • But huge and inevitably very expensive fires erupting in what is supposed to be California's rainy season -- it hasn't rained for eight months around Los Angeles -- have reinforced the idea that the state is becoming uninsurable.
  • As he looks at the ruins of his home razed when deadly fires tore through the Los Angeles area, Sebastian Harrison knows it will never be the same again, because he was not insured.
  • But huge and inevitably very expensive fires erupting in what is supposed to be California's rainy season -- it hasn't rained for eight months around Los Angeles -- have reinforced the idea that the state is becoming uninsurable.
As he looks at the ruins of his home razed when deadly fires tore through the Los Angeles area, Sebastian Harrison knows it will never be the same again, because he was not insured.
"I knew it was risky, but I had no choice," he told AFP.
Harrison is one of tens of thousands of Californians forced in recent years to live without a safety net, either because their insurance company dropped them, or because the premiums just got too high.
Some of them are now counting the crippling cost, after enormous blazes ripped through America's second largest city, killing more than two dozen people and levelling 12,000 structures, Harrison's home among them.
His own slice of what he called "paradise" stood on a mountainside overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where Malibu runs into the badly hit Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
The three-acre plot, which contained his home and a few other buildings, was always costly to insure, and in 2010 was already $8,000 a year.
When the bill hit $40,000 in the aftermath of the pandemic, he decided he simply couldn't afford it.
"It's not like I bought myself a fancy car instead of getting insurance," the 59-year-old said.
"It's just that food for myself and my family was more important."
For Harrison, a former actor, the emotional strain of losing the home he had lived in for 14 years is magnified by the knowledge that without a handout from the state or the national government, he has lost everything -- he even still has mortgage payments to make.
"I'm very worried, because this property is everything I had," he said.

Climate costs

Insuring property in California has become increasingly difficult.
Well-intentioned legislation that prevents insurance companies from hiking prices unfairly has collided with growing risks from a changing climate in a part of the world that now regularly sees devastating wildfires near populated areas.
Faced with burgeoning claims -- more damage, and higher repair costs because of the soaring price of labor and materials -- insurance companies turned tail and left the state en masse, dropping existing clients and refusing to write new policies.
Even enormous names in the market, like State Farm and Allstate, have pulled back.
Officials in state capital Sacramento have been worried for a while.
Last year Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara introduced reforms aimed at encouraging companies to return, including allowing them more leeway to increase their premiums to better match their costs.
But huge and inevitably very expensive fires erupting in what is supposed to be California's rainy season -- it hasn't rained for eight months around Los Angeles -- have reinforced the idea that the state is becoming uninsurable.
"I don't know now, because... my greatest fear was that we were going to have a catastrophe of this nature," Lara told the San Francisco Chronicle at the weekend.
Even the state-mandated insurer of last resort, a scheme designed to provide bare-bones coverage for those locked out of the private sector, could be struggling.
The California FAIR Plan was created in 1968 and is underpinned by every insurance company that operates in the state, as a requirement of their license to operate.
But the number of people now resorting to the scheme means its $200 million reserves are dwarfed by its liabilities. (A reinsurance sector helps to keep it liquid.)

'They're going to drop me'

With the enormous losses expected from the Palisades and Eaton fires set to test the insurance sector even further, California has issued an edict preventing companies from dropping customers or refusing to renew them in certain affected areas, for one year.
That's scant consolation for Gabrielle Gottlieb, whose house in Pacific Palisades survived the flames. 
"My insurer dropped a lot of friends of mine... and I'm concerned that they're going to drop me as well eventually," he told AFP.
"They're basically already putting it out there that 'lots of luck after a year!'"
Even in a best case scenario, home insurance looks set to be a lot more expensive in California, as state reforms filter through allowing increased prices in places more susceptible to wildfire.
"Real estate and taxes are already very high in California," said Robert Spoeri, a Pacific Palisades homeowner who was dropped by his insurer last year.
"If the insurance gets even higher, who is going to want to live in this state?"
rfo/hg/bs

Trump

Trump targets opponents, faces criticism from catherdral pulpit

BY DANNY KEMP AND SEBASTIAN SMITH

  • Trump however faced fresh criticism from an unexpected and powerful voice Tuesday when a Washington bishop told him from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among America's immigrants and LGBT people.
  • Donald Trump targeted opponents and touted a huge AI project Tuesday in a shock-and-awe start to his second presidency -- but faced defiance including a rare public dressing down from a bishop.
  • Trump however faced fresh criticism from an unexpected and powerful voice Tuesday when a Washington bishop told him from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among America's immigrants and LGBT people.
Donald Trump targeted opponents and touted a huge AI project Tuesday in a shock-and-awe start to his second presidency -- but faced defiance including a rare public dressing down from a bishop.
The Republican also defended his sweeping pardons of US Capitol rioters, including key figures from the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups who were released from jail on Tuesday.
Trump has vowed a "new golden age" for America, signing a slew of executive orders in his first 24 hours on immigration, gender and climate that overturn many of Democrat Joe Biden's policies.
Flanked at the White House by the chiefs of Japanese giant Softbank, Oracle and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Trump announced a venture called "Stargate" which will "invest $500 billion, at least," in AI infrastructure in the US.
"This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential," said Trump.
Tech barons have swung behind Trump, with the world's richest man Elon Musk even joining his administration. Trump said he was open to Musk buying the Chinese-owned app TikTok to keep it open in the United States.
But Trump -- at 78 the oldest person ever to be sworn in as president -- has also promised retribution as part of what he says is a bid to overhaul Biden's "deep state."
His administration fired Coast Guard chief Linda Fagan -- the first woman to lead a US military service -- with an official blaming her "leadership deficiencies" and an "excessive focus" on diversity programs.

'Have mercy'

Trump also withdrew Secret Service protection for former US national security advisor John Bolton, the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot, with whom he fell out.
"He was a very dumb person," said Trump.
Trump earlier announced plans to fire some 1,000 opponents in federal roles. Four people had already been "FIRED!" he wrote, including retired general Mark Milley, his former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, who became a prominent critic.
Trump however faced fresh criticism from an unexpected and powerful voice Tuesday when a Washington bishop told him from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among America's immigrants and LGBT people.
"I ask you to have mercy, Mr President," the Washington National Cathedral's Mariann Edgar Budde told an unsmiling Trump, seated in the front pew for the customary inaugural service next to his wife Melania.
Asked later what he thought about the remarks, Trump said: "I didn't think it was a good service."
Trump issued measures Monday to suspend the arrival of asylum seekers and expel migrants in the country illegally. He also decreed that only two sexes -- male and female, but not transgender -- will be recognized.

'Ridiculous'

He also granted pardons to more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, including those convicted of assaulting police officers.
Two prominent rioters had their sentences commuted: Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, the head of another such group, the Oath Keepers.
"I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive," Trump told reporters. 
Trump had infamously told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" when asked during a debate with Biden in 2020 whether he condemned white supremacist and militia groups.
Democrats condemned the "shameful" pardons.
The Republican president meanwhile faced pushback on his order revoking birthright citizenship -- guaranteed by the US Constitution -- with 22 Democratic-leaning states launching legal action against the plan.
It would prevent the federal government from issuing passports or citizenship certificates to children whose parents are in the country illegally or temporarily.
Trump is pushing a turbocharged agenda after his inauguration on Monday, in which he gave a speech that mixed dark imagery about a failing America with promises of renewal.
He is also sowing fresh disruption on the international stage.
Trump threatened tariffs against the European Union on Tuesday, adding the bloc to Canada and Mexico as potential targets.
He added that Russia was likely to face fresh sanctions if it did not agree to a peace deal in Ukraine.
dk/bs

business

France holds off Spain as world's tourist favourite

BY KATELL PRIGENT

  • France, which hosted the Olympic Games in July - September 2024, welcomed two more million visitors in 2024, an increase of two percent compared with 2023.
  • Olympic host France retained its spot as the world's top tourist destination in 2024 with 100 million visitors, holding off stiff competition from countries including Spain, the tourism ministry said on Tuesday. 
  • France, which hosted the Olympic Games in July - September 2024, welcomed two more million visitors in 2024, an increase of two percent compared with 2023.
Olympic host France retained its spot as the world's top tourist destination in 2024 with 100 million visitors, holding off stiff competition from countries including Spain, the tourism ministry said on Tuesday. 
As world tourism returned to pre-pandemic levels with 1.4 billion people taking a trip abroad, according to the UN, both France and Spain announced record visitor numbers.
"While France is still the world leader in this sector, we are facing fierce competition, particularly from Spain," said French Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre in an interview on Tuesday with the daily Le Figaro.
Spain said last week that a record 94 million foreign tourists flocked to the Iberian nation in 2024, a 10 percent increase from the previous year.
France, which hosted the Olympic Games in July - September 2024, welcomed two more million visitors in 2024, an increase of two percent compared with 2023.
But although France had more visitors, they spent less than those in Spain -- 71 billion euros ($74 billion) compared with 126 billion euros in Spain.
"We need to work to increase the average each visitor spends and get our visitors to stay longer," Delattre said.
France's takings from international tourists rose by a total of 12 percent year-on-year, driven largely by Belgian, English, German, Swiss and US citizens, the tourism ministry said in a statement.
Overnight stays by US tourists rose by five percent, the ministry added, calling the Americans "a key clientele" with strong purchasing power.
Despite the return of customers from Asia, the number of Chinese visitors to France remained 60 percent lower than before the pandemic.
Thirty percent fewer Japanese visited the country than in 2019.
Good snowfall in late 2024 meanwhile drove a rebound for the end-of-year holidays as snow sports lovers flocked to the French ski slopes.
"The outlook for the first quarter of 2025 is very good, with visitor numbers on the rise," the ministry statement added.
kap/sbk/yad

earnings

Netflix reports surge in subscribers, new price hikes

  • - 'Squid Game' - Netflix ended last year with a strong lineup that included a second season of the global hit "Squid Game."
  • Netflix on Tuesday said it added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday season to finish out last year with more than 300 million subscribers.
  • - 'Squid Game' - Netflix ended last year with a strong lineup that included a second season of the global hit "Squid Game."
Netflix on Tuesday said it added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday season to finish out last year with more than 300 million subscribers.
Company executives credited steady investments in shows and films with helping power growth at the streaming behemoth, while announcing it is increasing prices in Argentina, Canada, Portugal and the United States.
"As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix," the company said in a letter to investors.
Premium and standard memberships in the United States will cost $2 more per month, $25 and $18 respectively, while a standard ad-supported tier will be $8 in an increase of one dollar monthly, according to the company.
In the final quarter of 2024, the streaming juggernaut said it logged profit of $1.87 billion on revenue of $10.25 billion that grew double digits from the same period the prior year.
Netflix shares jumped more than 14 percent to top $993 in after-market trades.
"We enter 2025 with strong momentum, coming off a year with record net additions -- 41 million -- and having re-accelerated growth," Netflix executives told investors.
They added that Netflix is in a "leadership position" when it comes to engagement, with about two hours daily per paid member.
"Our business remains intensely competitive with many formidable competitors across traditional entertainment and big tech," Netflix executives said.
"We have to continue to improve all aspects of Netflix -- more series and films our members love, a great product experience, increased sophistication in our plans and pricing strategy including more advertising capabilities -- and grow into new areas like live programming and games."

'Squid Game'

Netflix ended last year with a strong lineup that included a second season of the global hit "Squid Game."
The dystopian Korean horror tale about a fictional, deadly game remains by far the most-watched Netflix TV series ever.
"Squid Game", an ultra-violent tale exploring themes of division and inequality, is considered to be one of the most significant works in solidifying South Korea's status as a global cultural powerhouse, alongside the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" and K-pop megastars BTS.
The streamer said that its ad-supported plans accounted for more than 55 percent of signups in countries where they are offered, growing nearly 30 percent overall from the prior quarter.
Growing its ad business is a top priority for this year, according to Netflix.
In a bid to boost sputtering growth, the company launched an ad-subsidized offering in late 2023 around the same time as a crackdown on sharing passwords.
Looking ahead, Netflix forecasts 2025 revenue between $43.5-44.5 billion and is targeting a healthy 29 percent operating margin.
The streaming service highlighted upcoming content, including new seasons of hit shows "Wednesday," and "Stranger Things". 
The United States will see 52 weeks of WWE professional wrestling programming and the return of NFL games on Christmas Day.
In the US, the company has begun to offer some users combined packages with its one-time rivals, making itself available through joint subscriptions with Peacock and Apple TV.
Netflix is seen as reigning supreme over the video content market, with Disney+ still struggling after a launch in November of 2019 that featured a slew of new content from its blockbuster Marvel and Star Wars universes.
Netflix shares have gained 80 percent over the past year, significantly outperforming both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices.
gc-arp/des

Global Edition

Stocks enjoy 'Trump bump', but oil slumps

  • On becoming president, Trump signed executive orders that indicated he could resume his hardball approach to global diplomacy and trade.
  • Global stock markets climbed on Tuesday as Donald Trump wasted no time in starting his second term as US president with a raft of announcements affecting the global economy.
  • On becoming president, Trump signed executive orders that indicated he could resume his hardball approach to global diplomacy and trade.
Global stock markets climbed on Tuesday as Donald Trump wasted no time in starting his second term as US president with a raft of announcements affecting the global economy.
Wall Street stocks rose as markets greeted Trump's early executive orders and comments that raised hopes new tariffs may not be as bad as feared.
Oil prices slumped however on the prospect of more drilling in the United States.
The rise on Wall Street following the Martin Luther King public holiday was part of a "Trump bump," noted Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
On becoming president, Trump signed executive orders that indicated he could resume his hardball approach to global diplomacy and trade.
He also spoke about the possibility of imposing a 25-percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods, which sent their currencies tumbling. 
Canadian and Mexican stock markets were marginally higher in Tuesday trading.
"What was missing in yesterday's executive orders, however, was any declaration of a decisive tariff action against China," said O'Hare. "Instead, President Trump said existing trade agreements should be reviewed for any recommended revisions."
Analysts at Goldman Sachs also found Trump's initial announcements to have been "more benign than expected."

'Less hawkish' China remarks

"Trump's comments on China were notably less hawkish than during the presidential campaign or even his more recent comments since the election," noted economists at Goldman Sachs.
That helped Chinese markets push higher, with Hong Kong gaining nearly one percent.
A top Chinese official said on Tuesday that no country would emerge victorious from a trade war.
"Protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war," Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Trump also gave social media app TikTok 75 days to find a buyer for its US business, after its Chinese owners ByteDance missed a Saturday deadline to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers or be banned.
European stocks also ended the day in the green, with both Frankfurt's DAX and London's FTSE 100 setting record closes.
Wall Street received an initial Trump bump after his November re-election, with investors excited about the prospect of tax cuts and deregulation. 
But as November gave way to December, the bump dissipated on rising fears that Trump's plans to slap tariffs on key US trading partners would spark inflation and dim the prospect of further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Oil prices slumped on Tuesday after the Trump administration declared a "national energy emergency" to significantly expand drilling in the world's top oil and gas producer.
"Mr Trump's full-throated yell for US producers to 'Drill, baby, drill!' is not new," said David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation.
"And it's perfectly logical that prices should fall at the prospect of increased supply," he added. 

Key figures around 2115 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 44,025.81 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 6,049.24 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 19,756.78 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,548.29 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 7,770.95 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 21,042.00 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,027.98 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 20,106.55 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,242.62 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0426 from $1.0404 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2342 from $1.2302
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.50 yen from 155.67 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.45 pence from 84.56 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.6 percent at $75.89 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $79.29 per barrel
burs-rl/gil/da/bgs

celebrity

Pharrell kicks off Paris Fashion week with Louvre show

BY MARINE DO-VALE AND ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • Pharrell's fifth collection for Louis Vuitton saw models walk a circular runway in the rear courtyard of the Louvre, continuing the US hip hop artist and singer's habit of using Paris landmarks as a backdrop for his clothes.
  • Louis Vuitton artistic director Pharrell Williams kicked off Paris Men's Fashion Week on Tuesday with a VIP-studded event at the Louvre museum.
  • Pharrell's fifth collection for Louis Vuitton saw models walk a circular runway in the rear courtyard of the Louvre, continuing the US hip hop artist and singer's habit of using Paris landmarks as a backdrop for his clothes.
Louis Vuitton artistic director Pharrell Williams kicked off Paris Men's Fashion Week on Tuesday with a VIP-studded event at the Louvre museum.
French NBA basketball star Victor Wembanyama was given the spot of honour next to Vuitton owner and luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault in a front row also featuring actors Bradley Cooper and Omar Sy.
Arnault, one of the world's richest men, dashed home after attending the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington on Monday where he was placed prominently behind outgoing president Joe Biden.
Pharrell's fifth collection for Louis Vuitton saw models walk a circular runway in the rear courtyard of the Louvre, continuing the US hip hop artist and singer's habit of using Paris landmarks as a backdrop for his clothes.
The Autumn-Winter 2025-2026 collection featured on-trend browns and tweeds heavily, as well as flashes of bubble-gum pink.
Baseball jackets were mixed up with long shorts and trench coats in designs that Pharrell worked on in collaboration with fellow designer Nigo, the artistic director at Kenzo.
For his debut Louis Vuitton show in 2023, Pharrell turned the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in the capital, into a giant runway, even painting its paving stones gold.
A historic theme park, the Jardin d'Acclimatation, hosted his show last January while in June he sent models down a lawn catwalk built on the rooftop of the modernist headquarters of UN agency UNESCO.

'Workwear'

The opening day of Men's Fashion Week, which runs until Sunday, also featured an afternoon show by Japanese brand Auralee, as well as an unusual mixed martial arts-themed event by mystery French label Coucou Bebe 75018.
"It's intended to be performance art," the self-taught designer behind the brand, who goes by the name Kanoush, told AFP of the show in a mock fighting ring.
Always photographed with his face hidden, Kanoush also refuses to reveal his identity.
Coucou Bebe 75018 -- which is a combination of a greeting used by prostitutes and the postcode of Kanoush's Pigalle area in northern Paris -- has earned a growing following thanks to its collage-laden jackets with references to French politics.
Ahead of Fashion Week, experts had said that the aesthetic dominance of streetwear was fading, with designers increasingly focused on "casual tailoring", emphasising suits and structured pieces with a relaxed twist.
A major trend from the Spring-Summer 2025 collections was dubbed "workwear", featuring trench coats, Barbour-style jackets, duffle coats and loafers. 
"There's a classic, slightly dandy but chic, elegant, and casual silhouette emerging," Alice Feillard, men's buying director at luxury Paris emporium Galeries Lafayette, told AFP.
Browns have dominated for two seasons, and insiders expect them to remain among the key shades at the end of the year.
A number of top labels are luring new designers or looking for fresh inspiration in the increasingly tough luxury market.
Lanvin is set to return after a two-year hiatus, presenting Peter Copping's debut collection as the artistic director of France's oldest couture house.
After completing his first show in September, Valentino's new artistic director, Alessandro Michele, will return for haute couture week, which follows immediately after the menswear week.
One of the most anticipated shows will be on Sunday by in-vogue French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus, whose Jacquemus brand is making its return to the official calendar after a five-year absence.
Notably absences include Givenchy, whose new chief designer Sarah Burton has reserved her first collection for the women's Fashion Week in March, as well as Loewe, whose artistic director Jonathan Anderson is rumoured to be on the way out.
Hedi Slimane left his role as artistic director at Celine in October, John Galliano quit Maison Margiela in December, and Chanel unveiled their new creative director, Matthieu Blazy, only a month ago. 
mdv-adp/sbk/rlp

diplomacy

Canada vows strong response, Mexico urges calm in face of Trump threats

BY MICHEL COMTE

  • Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, meanwhile, downplayed the tariff threat while urging calm in the face of Trump's announcement of severe new restrictions on migration.
  • Canada vowed strong pushback while Mexico urged calm on Tuesday in the face of US President Donald Trump's trade threats that risk throwing their economies into disarray.
  • Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, meanwhile, downplayed the tariff threat while urging calm in the face of Trump's announcement of severe new restrictions on migration.
Canada vowed strong pushback while Mexico urged calm on Tuesday in the face of US President Donald Trump's trade threats that risk throwing their economies into disarray.
The US president has accused both neighbors of being lax in preventing migrants and illicit drugs from coming into the United States, and called for a tightening of the borders.
Hours after taking his oath of office on Monday, he signaled that 25 percent punitive tariffs against the United States' two major trading partners could come as early as February 1.
He also said he would order troops to its border with Mexico to stem migrant flows.
"Canada will respond and everything is on the table," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference, adding that Ottawa's reaction would be "robust and rapid and measured," but also match dollar for dollar the US tariffs on Canadian imports.
A Canadian government source told AFP that Ottawa is considering higher duties on US goods including steel products, ceramics like toilets and sinks, glassware and orange juice -- in a first phase of tariffs that could be extended.
Provincial and opposition leaders have also called for blocking exports of Canadian oil, electricity and critical minerals.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, meanwhile, downplayed the tariff threat while urging calm in the face of Trump's announcement of severe new restrictions on migration.
"It's important to always keep a cool head and refer to signed agreements, beyond actual speeches," she said at her regular morning conference.

Bad neighbors

Trump defended the tariffs on his first day in office, telling reporters as he signed an array of executive orders that Canada and Mexico are allowing "vast numbers of people to come in, and fentanyl to come in."
He signed an order directing agencies to study a host of trade issues including deficits, unfair practices and currency manipulation.
These could pave the way for further duties.
Sheinbaum, who has reacted to months of threats from Trump with a mix of pragmatism and firmness, noted that several of the measures dated from Trump's first mandate.
On trade, Canada and Mexico are theoretically protected by the Canada-United States-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (USMCA), signed during Trump's first term and hailed as "the best and most important trade agreement ever signed by the United States."
The pact replaced an earlier continental trade agreement from the 1990s and included new labor provisions aimed in particular at improving worker rights in Mexico.
It is due to be reviewed in 2026.
"For now, the trade treaty remains in effect," Sheinbaum noted.
Mexico leapfrogged China in 2023 to become the United States's largest trading partner. That year, the American trade deficit with Mexico rose to US$150 billion.
Trade conflicts between the three signatories have multiplied in recent years, concerning for example American genetically modified corn, Canadian dairy products, and trade in auto parts.
Trudeau on Tuesday warned that a trade war would cost the United States, but also "there will be costs for Canadians."
"This is a crucial moment for Canada and Canadians," he said.
According to economists, a trade war could plunge Canada -- which sends approximately 75 percent of its exports to the United States, led by its energy and auto sectors -- into a recession.
One scenario from Scotiabank suggests that any bilateral trade disruption could slash more than five percent from Canadian GDP, increase unemployment significantly and fuel inflation.
US GDP could fall by 0.9 percent, analyst Jean-François Perrault said in a research note.
According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, tit-for-tat tariffs would cause Canadian GDP to fall by 2.6 percent, while American GDP would suffer a decline of 1.6 percent.
burs-amc/st

Global Edition

Beckham, protests, crypto's new dawn: what happened at Davos Tuesday

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • But multilateralism's appeal is waning as global crisis after crisis hits, and now with a more America-first president in the White House, free trade is set to take an even deeper battering than before with commercial tensions on the horizon.
  • Although the sun may be setting on the era of free trade, crypto supporters say a new dawn is rising for digital currencies thanks to US President Donald Trump. 
  • But multilateralism's appeal is waning as global crisis after crisis hits, and now with a more America-first president in the White House, free trade is set to take an even deeper battering than before with commercial tensions on the horizon.
Although the sun may be setting on the era of free trade, crypto supporters say a new dawn is rising for digital currencies thanks to US President Donald Trump. 
Meanwhile, English football legend David Beckham made his debut at the World Economic Forum, vowing to empower girls as part of his mission to help children around the world.
Those were just some of the goings-on in Davos, where the world's richest and most powerful huddle together for public talks.
Here's what happened at the forum on Tuesday:

Beckham wants to empower girls

Beckham sprinkled some celebrity stardust at the forum but he had a serious message to the powerful gathered: girls are being left behind.
"That's what I'm focusing on this year, teenage girls, empowering them to live to their full potential. They should have the right and the same access as the boys do," Beckham said at the forum.
"When you empower a young girl, it uplifts them. It uplifts their family. It uplifts their communities. And that's good for everybody. That's good for the world."
It was also Beckham's first attendance at the WEF during which he received a philanthropy award for his work with the children's charity UNICEF.

Multilateralism on the mind

The WEF is a festival of networking, or so its supporters say: a chance for business and political leaders to have dozens of meetings in a short space of time, far away from the prying eyes of the public and media.
But multilateralism's appeal is waning as global crisis after crisis hits, and now with a more America-first president in the White House, free trade is set to take an even deeper battering than before with commercial tensions on the horizon.
Nevertheless, there was one message every leader who spoke could agree on: global cooperation is a good thing, despite Trump.
"Protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war," Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said, without mentioning Trump directly.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to "defend free trade as the basis of our prosperity", after Trump threatened to impose tariffs and taxes on partners.

 Crypto's 'new dawn'

It's the "dawn of a new day" for cryptocurrencies with Trump's return, according to Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong, with palpable excitement for the future.
"You have to remember that the last four years in the US, it was a very hostile environment," Armstrong told attendees at one session.
Initially opposed to cryptocurrency, Trump made a sharp about-face during his presidential campaign, becoming a champion of the concept and promising to develop the sector, notably by loosening regulations.

Activism on show

There has been a flurry of protests at the gathering since the weekend.
In the latest on Tuesday, Greenpeace activists raised a banner saying "Tax the super-rich! Fund a just & green future" in the main hall of the Congress Centre.
That came a day after Oxfam activists briefly blocked the access road to the Davos heliport, while a separate group threw green paint on the facade of an Amazon pavilion in the village, holding a sign saying "drop fossil subsidies".

Musk's 'lawfare'

Germany's Scholz criticised Elon Musk's support for "extreme-right positions" after the tech mogul backed Germany's far-right AfD party.
Musk was also on the mind of a senior OpenAI executive who hoped the Tesla chief would stop using legal action to compete with the ChatGPT maker.
"We think he's a strong competitor, but we hope that he won't keep resorting to ... lawfare to compete," chief financial officer Sarah Friar said on the forum's sidelines of an event hosted by Bloomberg.
Musk had been part of the team that launched OpenAI as a non-profit firm but has since filed legal challenges to stop it changing its structure to for-profit.
burs-raz/lth/sbk

Harry

Murdoch group lawyers say close to deal in Prince Harry lawsuit

BY JOE JACKSON

  • - Cover-up claims - The lawsuit is one of several that Harry, 40, has brought against UK newspaper publishers, with whom he has long had a fractious relationship.
  • Lawyers for a UK tabloid publisher said Tuesday they were "very close" to settling a hotly-disputed lawsuit brought by Britain's Prince Harry for alleged unlawful information gathering by two of its newspapers.
  • - Cover-up claims - The lawsuit is one of several that Harry, 40, has brought against UK newspaper publishers, with whom he has long had a fractious relationship.
Lawyers for a UK tabloid publisher said Tuesday they were "very close" to settling a hotly-disputed lawsuit brought by Britain's Prince Harry for alleged unlawful information gathering by two of its newspapers.
The case, the culmination of years of legal wrangling during which dozens of other claimants settled, pits King Charles III's youngest son and a Labour lawmaker against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN).
They claim private investigators working for two tabloids owned by NGN -- The Sun and now-shuttered News of the World -- repeatedly targeted them unlawfully more than a decade ago.
Lawyers had been expected to make opening arguments at the blockbuster trial's start Tuesday at London's High Court. 
But they instead asked the exasperated judge, Timothy Fancourt, to delay the proceedings -- due to last up to eight weeks -- so they could continue last-ditch talks on a settlement.
"The solicitors for both sides have been involved in very intense negotiations over the last few days and the reality is we are very close," NGN's lawyer Anthony Hudson said.
He added starting the trial could impact the "settlement dynamic" while "a very substantial sum becomes payable" once the case formally opens, without specifying further details.
However, Fancourt refused the joint request, insisting they had had "ample time" to reach an out-of-court deal. 
The trial did not get underway, after lawyers for both sides indicated they would take their request to a higher court.
Barring that happening, the parties are expected back in court Wednesday morning. 

Cover-up claims

The lawsuit is one of several that Harry, 40, has brought against UK newspaper publishers, with whom he has long had a fractious relationship.
He has blamed the paparazzi for the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a car chase in Paris.
The California-based royal won a phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers just over a year ago.
However, the case against NGN does not encompass the prince's phone hacking allegations, after Fancourt previously ruled he had run out of legal time to pursue that claim.
The only other remaining claimant in the case is Tom Watson, a former deputy leader of the Labour party who now sits in the House of Lords.
Both he and Harry claim NGN executives deliberately covered up the allegedly unlawful practices by deleting emails.
Watson also claims his phone was hacked between 2009 and 2011, when he was investigating Murdoch's tabloids as an MP on a watchdog committee.
NGN denies the allegations, calling the cover-up claim "wrong" and "unsustainable".
Harry, who quit as a working royal in 2020 and settled in the United States with his wife Meghan, is due to give evidence but was not present Tuesday.
The prince, whose formal title is the Duke of Sussex, became the first senior British royal to give evidence in court in a century when he testified against the Mirror Group in 2023.
Fancourt, who also presided over that case, ruled in the prince's favour, concluding that phone hacking had been "widespread and habitual" at Mirror titles in the late 1990s and that the duke's phone had been tapped to a "modest extent".

Legal costs

Widespread phone hacking allegations against a number of British tabloids emerged in the late 2000s, prompting the launch of a public inquiry into UK press culture.
NGN apologised at the time for unlawful practices at the News of the World and closed it in 2011, while denying similar claims against The Sun and suggestions of a corporate cover-up.
It has since settled cases brought by around 1,300 claimants.
The publisher has paid out around £1 billion ($1.2 billion) including legal costs, according to British media, and had never seen a case go to trial.
That has prompted criticism that England's civil litigation system favours deep-pocketed defendants who leave claimants with little choice but to settle.
Various high-profile figures who made claims against NGN, including Harry's brother and heir-to-the-throne Prince William and actor Hugh Grant, have settled in recent years.
Grant, a long-time critic of Britain's tabloids, revealed last year that he had opted against a trial because it could land him with costs approaching £10 million even if he won.
Under litigation rules, if a claimant refuses a settlement and a judge awards a lower sum after a trial, the claimant must pay both sides' legal costs. 
Harry, whose NGN claim covers a 15-year period from 1996, had shown no sign of wanting to settle before Tuesday. 
The British royal told a New York Times event last month that his goal was "accountability".
jj/jkb/sbk

Global Edition

EU, China warn against trade friction after Trump's return

BY LAURENT THOMET AND RAZIYE AKKOC

  • It was probably Scholz's last speech in Davos as chancellor ahead of German elections next month. 
  • EU, German and Chinese leaders took turns defending global cooperation in Davos on Tuesday as the spectre of new trade wars looms following Donald Trump's return to the White House.
  • It was probably Scholz's last speech in Davos as chancellor ahead of German elections next month. 
EU, German and Chinese leaders took turns defending global cooperation in Davos on Tuesday as the spectre of new trade wars looms following Donald Trump's return to the White House.
Trump will make an online appearance at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week, but he has been the elephant in the room for the executives and leaders hobnobbing at the annual conference in the Swiss Alps.
In their speeches, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered visions of the world that are mirror opposites to those of the self-professed tariff-loving Trump.
"Protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war," Ding said, without mentioning Trump directly.
Trump threatened Monday to impose tariffs if Beijing rejected his proposal to keep Chinese-owned app TikTok online on condition that half of it is sold off. 
Meanwhile, von der Leyen took a conciliatory tone, saying the EU's "first priority will be to engage early" and "be ready to negotiate" with Trump.
"We will be pragmatic but we will always stand by our principles, to protect our interests and uphold our values," she said.
The European Commission president also said that Europe "must engage constructively with China -– to find solutions in our mutual interest" despite escalating trade tensions between the two.
Brussels has provoked Beijing's ire with a raft of probes targeting state subsidies in the green tech sector, as well as imposing tariffs on Chinese electric cars.
Ding warned against "erecting green barriers that could disrupt normal economic and trade cooperation".

More trade deals

Trump has threatened to impose extra customs duties on allies including the EU, as well as on China.
After his inauguration, he raised the possibility of imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Von der Leyen reiterated her commitment to free trade during her speech, pointing to recent EU deals with Switzerland, Mexico and the South American bloc Mercosur.
She also said she and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to "upgrade" their partnership.
Scholz vowed to "defend free trade" with other partners, warning that "isolation comes at the expense of prosperity".
"President Trump says 'America First' and he means it. There is nothing wrong with keeping your own country's interests in mind," Scholz said. 
"It's just that cooperation and understanding with others are usually in your own interest as well."
It was probably Scholz's last speech in Davos as chancellor ahead of German elections next month. 
Scholz used his speech to take another shot at Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, who has angered the chancellor with his support of Germany's far-right AfD party.
"We have freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany," Scholz said.
"Everyone can say what he wants even if he is a billionaire. What we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme right positions."

War and climate change

Aside from tariffs, Trump has also rattled the world with his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
Von der Leyen defended the climate pact as the "best hope for all humanity" and vowed that "Europe will stay the course".
Ukraine is also keeping a very close eye on what Trump's second term will involve.
Speaking in Davos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky questioned whether Trump was committed to NATO and European security.
"Will President Trump even notice Europe? Does he see NATO as necessary? And will he respect EU institutions?" he said.
Zelensky told reporters later he was working on meeting Trump but there was no date yet.
"We want to finish the war and President Trump says that he also really would like to finish the war, and I believe he will help us with this," he said.
Middle East conflicts are likewise high on the agenda.
Qatar's prime minister said a lasting peace in Gaza would depend on Israel and Hamas acting in "good faith", days into a fragile truce in the Palestinian territory mediated by the Gulf state.
"If they are embarking in this in good faith, this will last and hopefully will lead to phase two, will lead to a permanent ceasefire," Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the forum.
raz-lth/yad

France

France-Italy trains to return after 19-month landslide closure

  • SNCF said connections between Paris and Turin and Milan, which has whisked passengers from a breakfast of croissants in the French capital to a hearty pasta for lunch in Italy in six or seven hours, would resume on March 31.
  • The hugely popular train line linking Paris with the Italian cities of Turin and Milan is to reopen in March and April after a 19-month closure forced when a landslide damaged a tunnel, French railway operator SNCF and Italian counterpart Trenitalia announced Tuesday.
  • SNCF said connections between Paris and Turin and Milan, which has whisked passengers from a breakfast of croissants in the French capital to a hearty pasta for lunch in Italy in six or seven hours, would resume on March 31.
The hugely popular train line linking Paris with the Italian cities of Turin and Milan is to reopen in March and April after a 19-month closure forced when a landslide damaged a tunnel, French railway operator SNCF and Italian counterpart Trenitalia announced Tuesday.
SNCF said connections between Paris and Turin and Milan, which has whisked passengers from a breakfast of croissants in the French capital to a hearty pasta for lunch in Italy in six or seven hours, would resume on March 31.
Trenitalia, which is competing with SNCF on the line, said its connections would resume on April 1.
The Italian company plans two round trips per day aboard its high-speed Frecciarossa train. SNCF will offer three round trips per day on the French TGV. 
The French company set up a replacement service between Paris and Milan last January in order to keep one round trip per day.
Passengers currently take a bus between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France and Oulx in Italy and do the rest of the journey by TGV for a journey lasting seven and a half to nine hours -- compared to between six and seven hours before the accident. 
On August 27, 2023, part of a cliff collapsed in the Maurienne Valley after heavy rains that followed a drought. Thousands of tons of rocks buried a railway tunnel approximately 300 meters long and seriously damaged the infrastructure. 
The mountain had to be cleared of 5,000 cubic metres of unstable rock, using water drops by helicopter or dynamiting, before securing the cliff and then restoring the network. 
In normal times, the railway line linking France and Italy welcomes around thirty international freight trains every day, as well as five to six  round trips of high-speed trains and the local services to the Maurienne valley.
agu-sjw/yad

summit

Trump: the name on everyone's lips at Davos

BY ALI BEKHTAOUI

  • One Swiss construction business chief described Trump as "unpredictable".
  • Surrounded by snowy mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps, the world's rich and powerful rub shoulders at Davos, with only one man dominating their chats: US President Donald Trump.
  • One Swiss construction business chief described Trump as "unpredictable".
Surrounded by snowy mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps, the world's rich and powerful rub shoulders at Davos, with only one man dominating their chats: US President Donald Trump.
"This year, the elephant is in the room," quipped Graham Allison, professor of government at the Harvard Kennedy School. 
Last year, the ghost of Trump stalked the forum's halls after storming to victory in the Iowa caucuses that put him on course for the White House.
A quirk of the calendar meant that as Trump's inauguration ceremony was held in the US Capitol Monday, this year's World Economic Forum got started for a week's worth of networking by day, and shenanigans and partying by night.
As a result, the forum has been eclipsed by Trump, who will address it via video link on Thursday. He attended the forum twice during his first presidency.
Some may have been forgiven for wondering if the inauguration was a mini-Davos of its own, with the world's richest men attending, including Tesla's Elon Musk, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
Parties across Davos had screens tuned in to the inauguration Monday, including one hosted by The Washington Post, owned by Bezos, while many journalists were  huddled around their phones in corners and desks to watch Trump officially return.
"All are fascinated, some are terrified, some are amused recognising it's going to be exciting, most are uncertain," Allison, who has been attending the forum for around 40 years, told AFP.
Despite his dominance, when EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese vice premier Ding Xuexiang spoke on Tuesday, neither uttered Trump's name.

'Unpredictable'

On the main promenade where governments and companies set up shop with bold and bright store fronts to attract some of the attention of the nearly 3,000 attendees, the USA House stands out with a large eagle and the US flag on display.
One Swiss construction business chief described Trump as "unpredictable".
"It just started, we have to wait and see," said the executive, who did not wish to be named. "Let's see if he does what he said he was going to do."
She hoped his speech on Thursday would offer clarity on what direction he would take, but noted: "Today, America is ready to do anything to succeed."
Her interview with AFP was interrupted by an acquaintance who did not shy away from his fervent support for Trump.
"I'm extremely optimistic, very happy and euphoric for the world after Trump's inauguration," the businessman said, hiding his badge in a bid to remain anonymous.
"We have hope," he said, before hurrying off.
The exchange demonstrated the pendulum swing of emotions at Davos as well as the unease in the business world for Trump 2.0.
While some executives deeply admire the billionaire president who himself was a businessman, others fear his protectionist, America-First approach could hurt global trade and do untold damage to the multilateralism ideals espoused by the Davos elite.

Long-term challenges

Academics worldwide are also concerned about his first moves including planned withdrawals from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.
"All that is going to affect the work we do globally but also people's lives," said Jemilah Mahmood, executive director of the Sunway centre for Planetary Health in Malaysia, referring to the two decisions.
Mahmood also insisted that despite the news across the Atlantic, Trump "doesn't dominate the entire conversation" at the forum.
"Am I optimistic? Not really. Am I pessimistic? Yes, a little," she told AFP.
"Trump is going to be in office for four years, the challenges we have will last more than four years."
alb/raz/lth/yad

Climate and Environment

EV sales slip in Europe in 2024 in overall stable car market

  • According to ACEA data, overall car sales edged 0.9 percent higher in Europe -- including Britain, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, to just shy of 13 million. 
  • Sales of electric cars slid last year in Europe in an otherwise stable market, data from carmakers showed Tuesday.
  • According to ACEA data, overall car sales edged 0.9 percent higher in Europe -- including Britain, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, to just shy of 13 million. 
Sales of electric cars slid last year in Europe in an otherwise stable market, data from carmakers showed Tuesday.
A total of 1.99 million battery electric vehicles were sold in Europe last year, a drop of 1.3 percent from 2023, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
The figures represent a stall after several years of strong growth for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe, and raise questions about the transition away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
According to data published last week by the Rho Motion consultancy, EV sales rose 25 percent globally last year thanks to a surge in China.
According to ACEA data, overall car sales edged 0.9 percent higher in Europe -- including Britain, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, to just shy of 13 million. 
"Battery-electric cars remained the third-most-popular choice for buyers in 2024," the ACEA said in its monthly report on sales figures. 
Cars with petrol engines accounted for one in three new cars sold last year, followed closely by simple hybrids with 30.9 percent market share. Plug-in hybrids accounted for another 7.1 percent of sales.
Fully battery-electric vehicles accounted for 13.6 percent of total sales in 2024, a drop from 14.6 percent market share in 2023.
Sales of EVs, which are more expensive than ICE vehicles, are still highly dependent upon incentives.
EV sales plunged by 27.4 percent in Germany last year as government incentives ended at the end of 2023.
But they jumped by 21.4 percent in Britain last year to make it Europe's top EV market by volume, with just under 382,000 sold last year, thanks in part to sales targets on automakers.
Norway continued to have the highest EV market share, accounting for nearly nine out of 10 new vehicles sold last year, ahead of a goal of zero sales of ICE vehicles that entered into force in 2025.
But the uptake of EVs in Norway was also aided by high taxes on ICE vehicles, which often made them less expensive for consumers.
The European Union is set to ban the sale of new ICE vehicles in 2035.
rl/yad

port

Blast kills one person at Barcelona port

  • In September two workers died and at least four others were injured after two cranes collapsed in the northern Spanish port of Gijon. rs/ds/imm/jm
  • One person died and another was seriously injured in a blast on Tuesday at the port of Barcelona in northeastern Spain, one of Europe's busiest, authorities said.
  • In September two workers died and at least four others were injured after two cranes collapsed in the northern Spanish port of Gijon. rs/ds/imm/jm
One person died and another was seriously injured in a blast on Tuesday at the port of Barcelona in northeastern Spain, one of Europe's busiest, authorities said.
Firefighters extinguished a blaze caused by the explosion which took place during maintenance work in a spot where methyl acetate -- used as a solvent in glues, paints and nail polish removers -- is stored, local emergency services wrote on X. 
Several other people were treated for light injuries at the scene, they added.
In September two workers died and at least four others were injured after two cranes collapsed in the northern Spanish port of Gijon.
rs/ds/imm/jm

diplomacy

Trump's climate retreat shines light on green leaders

BY NICK PERRY

  • During the last Trump presidency, the EU and China launched a climate dialogue with Canada to ensure unwavering high-level support for the Paris Agreement while the United States was outside the process.
  • The United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is a blow to global cooperation on climate change, but other countries are marching ahead and stepping up leadership on the issue.
  • During the last Trump presidency, the EU and China launched a climate dialogue with Canada to ensure unwavering high-level support for the Paris Agreement while the United States was outside the process.
The United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is a blow to global cooperation on climate change, but other countries are marching ahead and stepping up leadership on the issue.
China is dominating the clean energy race, Brazil will be steering global climate negotiations, Denmark has approved a world-first tax on livestock emissions and Colombia is saying farewell to fossil fuels.
There are fears the US retreat, announced by President Donald Trump on Monday, will hinder global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But some observers also see a chance for more ambitious countries to forge new alliances, set the agenda and champion a climate deal endorsed by nearly all nations.
"It's a bigger pact than just the United States," said Frances Colon, a senior fellow from the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based policy institute.

Emerging players

One of these emerging leaders is Brazil, which this year is hosting one of the most important UN climate summits since the Paris accord was adopted in 2015.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has positioned himself as a global flag-bearer for the environment, and since taking office deforestation in the Amazon has fallen impressively.
But he also wants to expand Brazil's oil exploration, complicating its image as COP30 host. 
Along with South Africa, which is hosting the G20 this year, Brazil is expected to shape a global reform agenda that demands climate and development goals go hand in glove.
"This could be a year for Global South leadership," said Tim Sahay, co-director of the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December boasted of his country's "leadership" rolling out solar and wind energy. 
"India is setting global standards in climate action," he said on X.

Renewable power

China's economic contribution to reducing global emissions -- the chief purpose of the Paris Agreement -- is already unrivalled.
The country produces more than half the world's electric vehicles, about 70 percent of its wind turbines, and 80 percent of solar panels, helping drastically cut the cost of low-carbon technologies.
On Tuesday, China announced it had installed a record amount of renewable energy in 2024 and vowed to "work with all parties to actively address the challenges of climate change".
As political headwinds frustrate global climate action, "China's performance in advancing and deploying green technologies might become the saving grace", said Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
China already flexes considerable diplomatic muscle in global climate negotiations, informally leading a major developing country bloc.
At the same time, China is responsible for the overwhelming majority of the growth in planet-warming emissions since the Paris Agreement was inked.
It will soon overtake the European Union as the second-largest historic polluter, behind the United States, and could feel less pressure under Trump to take more ambitious action.

Old guard

The EU has a long history of climate leadership and slashed its emissions 7.5 percent between 2022 and 2023 -- streets ahead of any other nation or bloc.
The 27-nation bloc is also the largest contributor of climate finance to poorer countries, outspending all other wealthy nations.
"The Paris agreement continues to be the best hope of all humanity. So Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
During the last Trump presidency, the EU and China launched a climate dialogue with Canada to ensure unwavering high-level support for the Paris Agreement while the United States was outside the process.
Strong leadership will again be needed to rally momentum, said Alex Scott, a senior associate at Italian climate think tank ECCO.  
"The EU and China could collaboratively provide that geopolitical pole," she told AFP.
But the EU is preoccupied with its own domestic problems, including political swings to anti-climate parties, while Beijing is locked in a trade spat with Brussels over its tax on carbon-intensive imports. 

Green agenda

A slew of other countries, from economic giants to tiny Caribbean islands, are eager to broadcast their climate bona fides.
The UK -- where Energy Secretary Ed Miliband promised in November to "make Britain a climate leader again" -- produced its cleanest electricity on record in 2024.
Denmark has approved a tax on agricultural emissions, Barbados and Kenya are pushing for global financial reforms to drive investment in developing countries, and Colombia has vowed to stop extracting fossil fuels -- its largest export earner.
Scott said "countries who've made a bet on investing in the economy of the future with green tech and green jobs will continue to make that bet because it's in their best interests".
np/klm/gv

Trump

Trump says could impose 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico on Feb 1

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • He added that he was thinking of enacting the tariffs on February 1.
  • President Donald Trump said Monday he may impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico as early as February 1, while promising punitive measures on other countries as part of new US trade policy.
  • He added that he was thinking of enacting the tariffs on February 1.
President Donald Trump said Monday he may impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico as early as February 1, while promising punitive measures on other countries as part of new US trade policy.
Trump rekindled his threat against the two major US trading partners hours after taking the oath of office -- accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States.
"We're thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada, because they're allowing vast numbers of people -- Canada's a very bad abuser also -- vast numbers of people to come in, and fentanyl to come in," he said in the Oval Office as he signed an array of executive orders.
He added that he was thinking of enacting the tariffs on February 1.
Trump also signed an order Monday directing agencies to study a host of trade issues including deficits, unfair practices and currency manipulation.
These could pave the way for further duties.
In ordering the probe on large US deficits, Trump asked agencies to "recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies" as remedies.
He also called for a review of Washington's trade deal with Mexico and Canada, alongside its pact with China that marked a truce in their earlier tariff war.

Trade overhaul

Earlier Monday, Trump vowed to "immediately begin the overhaul" of the US trade system "to protect American workers and families."
"Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens," Trump said in his inaugural address.
Trump had threatened the tariff hikes on Canadian and Mexican imports as president-elect, as well as an additional 10 percent on Chinese goods, if they did not do more about illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl into the country.
On the campaign trail, Trump also floated the idea of added duties on all imports and even steeper rates on Chinese goods.
Mexico, Canada and China are leading sources for goods imported by the United States, according to official trade data.
Asked about across-the-board tariffs, Trump on Monday night told reporters in the Oval Office he might enact them, but added: "We're not ready for that yet."
Tariffs are paid by US importers to the government on purchases from abroad, and the economic weight falls on importers, foreign suppliers or consumers.

EU in cross-hairs

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump took aim at trade imbalances with the European Union too, saying it did not import enough American products.
He added he would "straighten that out" by using tariffs or by urging more oil and gas purchases from the bloc.
The EU's economy commissioner said earlier Monday that it stood ready to defend its interests, while Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Ottawa would work to ensure it is ready to respond to any US actions.
Canada's finance minister Dominic Leblanc added that it would be a mistake for Washington to proceed with tariffs.
In his inaugural address, Trump reiterated his plan also to set up an "External Revenue Service" to collect tariffs, duties and revenues.
Some analysts have warned that tariff hikes would bring higher consumer prices and weigh on GDP.
But Trump's supporters have pointed to other proposals like tax cuts and deregulation as ways to offset any potential negative impacts.
Trump also signed a directive to establish a new "Department of Government Efficiency," after naming billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead such an initiative.
The office dubbed DOGE is expected to propose major cuts to federal spending and regulations.
bur-bys/nro

Trump

Tech billionaires take center stage at Trump inauguration

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • The tech titans' prominent positions on the inauguration stage was particularly notable for Zuckerberg, whom Trump had threatened with life imprisonment just months ago.
  • Tech billionaires including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were given prime positions at Donald Trump's inauguration Monday, in an unprecedented demonstration of their power and influence on US politics.
  • The tech titans' prominent positions on the inauguration stage was particularly notable for Zuckerberg, whom Trump had threatened with life imprisonment just months ago.
Tech billionaires including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were given prime positions at Donald Trump's inauguration Monday, in an unprecedented demonstration of their power and influence on US politics.
Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg are the world's three richest people, according to Forbes. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who also attended, ranks seventh.
US tech tycoons have spent the weeks since the election courting favor with Trump, marking a dramatic shift from Silicon Valley's more hostile response to his first term as president four years ago.
Attendees also included Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew sat in the back row of the stage, even as his platform's future remains uncertain. Trump later in the day ordered a 75-day pause on enforcing a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States.
Despite highly limited seating after the ceremony was moved indoors due to bad weather, Meta CEO Zuckerberg attended with his wife Priscilla Chan, while Amazon executive chairman Bezos was accompanied by his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez.
"When the three wealthiest men in America sit behind Trump at his inauguration, everyone understands that the billionaire class now controls our government," left-wing US Senator Bernie Sanders said in a social media post.
The tech titans' prominent positions on the inauguration stage was particularly notable for Zuckerberg, whom Trump had threatened with life imprisonment just months ago.
The Meta chief recently made headlines by brashly aligning his company's policies with Trump's conservative worldview, notably by eliminating fact-checking in the United States and relaxing hate speech restrictions on Facebook and Instagram.
Musk has shown the strongest support for Trump, spending $277 million to help him and other Republicans win November's election while transforming his X platform into an amplifier for pro-Trump voices.
Bezos, like Zuckerberg and his peers, has visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida leading up to the inauguration, with favorable treatment, government contracts and reduced regulatory scrutiny for Amazon at stake.
As owner of The Washington Post, Bezos sparked controversy by blocking the newspaper's planned endorsement of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election, triggering newsroom protests and subscriber cancellations.
Musk has been named a leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to advise the White House on cuts to public spending and has spent much of the past two months at Mar-a-Lago.

'Paid access'

While Musk's SpaceX is already a major government contractor, Amazon's AWS cloud computing division and Google also count the US government among their biggest clients.
Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon are also fighting landmark antitrust lawsuits from the US government. 
"These are very wealthy people who have basically paid for access, which is something that they would do for any upcoming administration even if we all recognize Trump is very transactional," said Andrew Selepak, a media professor at the University of Florida.
"They're making sure it's very clear that their faces, names, and especially their money, is here," he added.
arp/nro