|  | Nasdaq | 23,224.82 | |
| | S&P | 6,875.62 | |
| | Dow | 49,077.23 | |
|  | 10-Year | 4.253% | |
| | Bitcoin | $90,122.36 | |
| | Nvidia | $183.32 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Rarely does a country inhabited by ~56,000 people have this big an impact on US stocks, but President Trump's comments on Greenland sent them soaring yesterday. Stocks leapt up after Trump said he wouldn't take the territory by force, and climbed even higher after he called off threatened tariffs over his desire to acquire it (more on that below), putting the S&P 500 in the green for the year. Tech stocks like Nvidia led the way.
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GEOPOLITICS The diplomatic temperature lurched closer to Alpine cool in Davos yesterday amid signs of progress in resolving the transatlantic tiff over President Trump's aspiration to acquire Greenland. Trump announced that he had reached a "framework of a future deal" with NATO head Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum (WEF) regarding Denmark's Arctic territory. He also said that he was nixing his promised tariffs against European allies, which had rankled investors and the Continent's political leaders earlier this week. Trump said the agreement involves his proposed "Golden Dome" intercontinental missile defense system and shared control of the rare earth minerals contained within the icy landmass. Investors cheer détente The prospect of a Greenland handshake spurred markets to continue climbing out of a swoon, which was fueled Tuesday by the widening rift between Washington and Europe. The recovery began earlier in the day, when Trump told the Davos crowd that he wouldn't use force to grab Greenland—and continued after the deal announcement with the 10-year US government bond yield falling and the dollar index jumping as much as 0.27%. Vibe shift Earlier this week, the transatlantic ties looked more strained than relations at a family dinner where red wine got spilled all over mom's prized tablecloth. Trump's threat last weekend to impose new tariffs on goods from Denmark and seven other European countries tanked global markets. It also drew rebukes from European leaders at the WEF, where European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde reportedly ditched a Europe-deriding speech by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday. And it looked like Europe might have been gearing up for a retaliatory punch: - Yesterday, the European Parliament paused its ratification of the US–EU trade deal, an agreement that many experts perceive as a win for the Trump administration.
- And EU representatives were due to meet today to decide how to respond to Trump's tariffs. Harsh measures—including retaliatory duties on $100 billion worth of American exports and the "trade bazooka" of blocking US goods and services from the EU market—were reportedly on the table.
Bottom line: Despite a lack of public deal details, it looks like negotiations will continue, fending off a major rift among NATO members.—SK | | |
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WORLD  SCOTUS seems poised to let Lisa Cook stay at the Fed. During oral arguments yesterday on the lawfulness of President Trump's effort to oust Cook as a Federal Reserve governor over unproven mortgage fraud allegations, justices from across the political spectrum expressed concerns that allowing Cook's firing would weaken the central bank's independence. That makes it likely that the court will allow Cook to keep her job—at least while her legal challenge plays out, dashing the president's hopes of quickly installing someone more likely to deliver the interest rate cuts he wants. The concerns about Fed independence come as Trump and his Justice Department have also targeted Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
 Jamie Dimon says Trump's card fee cap would be an "economic disaster." It's no secret that Wall Street banks opposed President Trump's proposed 10% limit on credit card fees, and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon did not hold back when asked about it yesterday in Davos, despite being otherwise hesitant to criticize Trump. He said that his bank would be fine, but the rule would force a "drastic reduction of the credit card business." Banks pulling back could strip credit from 80% of Americans and hurt the businesses and municipalities that depend on them to pay for things, Dimon said. He suggested trying the cap out first in Massachusetts and Vermont—states whose senators have supported the idea.
 Batten down the hatches—there's a storm coming. We mean that literally: This weekend, severe winter weather is expected to affect more than 200 million Americans across 2,000 miles. The National Weather Service warned of "great swaths of heavy snow, sleet, and treacherous freezing rain" beginning on Friday in the Southwest, and heading to the East Coast through Sunday, with dangerous ice expected from Texas through the Carolinas. Besides icy roads, the weather may lead to downed power lines and snarled air travel.—AR
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AVIATION Ryanair's latest marketing campaign would crush in a crowd of fourth graders. The budget European airline known for its offbeat PR stunts announced a "Big 'Idiot' Seat Sale" this week, after a very public spat between the company's CEO, Michael O'Leary, and Elon Musk. The pair have been name-calling each other after O'Leary said Ryanair wouldn't adopt Musk's Starlink internet. Per O'Leary, Starlink would cost Ryanair as much as $250 million a year between installation and increased fuel costs due to drag from the antennas the airline would have to add to its jets. O'Leary added that about only 10% of Ryanair customers would pay for in-flight wi-fi, since most of its flights are short: - Musk responded by calling O'Leary an "utter idiot" and asking X users if he should buy the company and replace the CEO with someone named Ryan.
- At a press conference yesterday, O'Leary said, "I suspect he's a bigger idiot than me, but nevertheless, he probably thinks I'm a bigger idiot than him."
To capitalize on the verbal melee, Ryanair is offering flights for just £16.99 (~$23) to 100,000 customers in January, February, and March. O'Leary said that these kinds of PR spats are "very good for our bookings." Big picture: Musk has been trying to make Starlink the go-to wi-fi provider for cruising altitude, locking down contracts with 31 carriers around the world, including Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and United Airlines.—MM | | |
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ENTERTAINMENT Sundance is ending its first act. The independent film festival founded by Robert Redford opens today under bittersweet circumstances—after four decades in Utah, the event that launched numerous movie careers will be moving to Boulder, CO, next year. Park City will be the second location filled with notable people in parkas this week, but next year's move may be a blow to Utah's economy. The 2025 iteration drew more than 85,000 attendees, with out-of-state visitors spending $162.4 million, according to a Sundance report. That's a lot of tickets and branded tote bags bought by people with an appreciation for cinematography, and it explains why many locations courted the festival. - Utah officials proposed setting aside $3.5 million in state funds next year for Sundance and relocating it almost entirely to Salt Lake City.
- But Boulder's offer of $34 million in tax credits over 10 years, along with more venues to support expansion and proximity to the University of Colorado, won the approval of Sundance and Redford, who died in September.
Staying behind: Sundance will continue to offer labs (intensive workshops) in Utah for aspiring screenwriters and directors, who will get to work with established professionals. End credits: Richard Linklater, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and many other notable Sundance alums spoke to The Hollywood Reporter for an extensive oral history of the festival.—DL | | |
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STAT No matter how bitter your Wordle rivalry with Jeanine from sales has become, it's still not technically a two-person game. But the New York Times debuted its first official multiplayer game yesterday with Crossplay, a Scrabble-like game sure to reignite your dormant Words With Friends feuds. And while the NYT's claim to fame may be as the Paper of Record, getting you addicted to Connections et al. is an important part of its business strategy. According to the Associated Press: - The 10 games in the newspaper's stable (Crossplay is No. 11) were played more than 11.2 billion times last year.
- Subscribers spent more time in the Games section than reading the digital news, YipitData found in 2023.
Crossplay joins the mix after the Times's subscriber base grew to 12.33 million by last September. Most of those subscribers are digital, putting paperboys out of business and giving them the option to pick and choose which parts of the newspaper they want. And last year, the number of people subscribing to just the news dipped.—AR |
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NEWS - Berkshire Hathaway is taking steps toward selling its 28% stake in Kraft Heinz, marking the first big move from Warren Buffett's successor, Greg Abel.
- Japan restarted operations at the world's largest nuclear power plant at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa for the first time since the country shut down all of its reactors in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
- Duke University sued quarterback Darian Mensah to try to block him from transferring. The suit claimed leaving the school would violate a multiyear name, image, and likeness contract.
- The House Oversight Committee, which is controlled by Republicans, began the process to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for not testifying in its Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
- Nathan's Famous, the Coney Island hot dog seller where Joey Chestnut amazes us every summer, was acquired by packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods for $450 million.
- Text messages from celebrities were released in court documents in Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni—including one in which Taylor Swift called Baldoni a "bitch."
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PLAY Brew Mini: Pastries factor into today's Mini, too. We can say no more. Play it here. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines below are real and one is faker than a text offering flexible remote hours for minimal work. Can you spot the odd one out? - Exploding trees possible across Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota
- The all-you-can-eat buffet that's France's favourite restaurant
- Where is your chatbot tonight? AI boyfriends are starting to cheat
- Pabst rolls out Godzilla-branded 99-packs
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SHARE THE BREW  Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
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ANSWER We made up the one about the cheating chatbots. Word of the Day Today's Word of the Day is: dormant, meaning "temporarily inactive." Thanks to Eliza from Shaker Heights, OH, for the not-at-all-sluggish suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.
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