Markets
Choppy trading in US equities, alternating gains and losses. $TSLA continues to accumulate losses, dropping 6% today. Europe continues to gain, very slowly catching up to the widened gap with the US. EU vows to retaliate tariffs, and also pour money into AI. Figures like Powell and Ken Griffen mention concerns over tariffs – how they will raise prices and erode trust. Treasury yields rose on hawkish comments. 24Q4 Earnings release are more than halfway through.
Headlines
• Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff that board hasn’t ‘seen anything official from Elon’
Sam Altman rejected Musk’s $97b offer, which may not have been official after all.
• Ken Griffin says Trump’s ‘bombastic’ trade rhetoric is a mistake that’s eroding trust in the U.S.
“It tears into the minds of CEOs, policymakers that we can’t depend upon America, as our trading partner.”
• European stocks close higher after Trump imposes fresh tariffs
Stoxx 600 closed at record high, +7.15% YTD.
• Ukraine ‘may be Russian someday,’ Trump says, as the U.S. ups the pressure on Kyiv and allies
Trump claims Ukraine agreed to give $500b worth of rare minerals in exchange for ongoing support.
• JD Vance says U.S. will defend American AI and block efforts to weaponize the tech
Says EU are regulating AI too much, and cheap tech subsidized and exported by authoritarian regimes will not pay off.
• Kering slightly beats fourth-quarter forecasts even as sales at embattled Gucci brand plunge 24%
24Q4 revenue -12% YoY.
• Meta stock closes higher for 17th straight session
Analysts praise its positioning in the AI space.
• Dollar falls as tariff concerns ease, Fed’s Powell stays patient on rate cuts
Says it was not the role of Fed to comment on policy, but to react to how it will impact the economy.
• Trump’s tariffs lift US metals prices but underscore production struggles
Whether domestic production can rise in time is the question.
• Goldman Sachs ends IPO diversity policy citing legal developments
GS would only take public companies which had at least two diverse board members
• JPMorgan sees investment banking fees rising by mid-teens percentage in first quarter
• EU says AI race ‘far from over’ as bloc pledges 50-billion-euro investment boost
Including previous funding brings total to $200b
• Trump says Treasury Secretary Bessent is going to Ukraine as U.S. has ‘little to show’ for aid sent
