Davos Braces for Trump's Arrival; Bessent Cautions Allies Over Military Missions in Greenland

0:00Hello, I'm Stephen Carroll. I'm in Brussels where many of Europe's biggest decisions get made. And I'm Caroline Hepker in London with the hosts of the Bloomberg Daybreak Europe podcast. We're up early every weekday keeping an eye on what's happening across Europe and around the world. We do it early so the news is fresh, not recycled and so you know what actually matters as the day gets going. From Brussels, I'm following the politics, policy and the people shaping the European Union right now. And from London, I'm looking at what all that means for markets, money and the wider economy. We've got reporters across Europe and around the globe feeding in as stories break.

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1:02Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, we begin with the latest from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. President Trump is on his way to attend the annual gathering of global elites, and he's promising to talk about America's successes. The country's never done better. We have$18 trillion plus coming in. We've never had anything like it, and no country has had anything like it. The president spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One, but the trip's already gotten off to a rough start.

1:41The plane had to return to Joint Base Andrews shortly after takeoff due to a mechanical issue. President Trump was eventually able to get on a replacement plane, but it delayed his departure by more than two hours. The president's speech is scheduled for 8.30 a.m. Wall Street time, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Davos says he expects the president to be about three hours late. We will carry the president's remarks when they happen on Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television, and the Bloomberg Podcast channel on YouTube. Nathan, when President Trump does arrive in Davos, he could find allies shaken by his stated desire to take control of Greenland.

2:18The president has announced 10 percent tariffs on goods from eight European countries starting next month unless he has a deal to purchase Denmark's territory. Officials in Europe have started drafting plans to retaliate, but President Trump says he does not think they will. I think that we will work something out when NATO is going to be very happy and where we're going to be very happy. President Trump spoke at a White House news conference heard live here on Bloomberg Radio, marking his first year back in office. Asked how far he'd go to acquire Greenland, the president responded, you'll find out.

2:52Well, Karen, France is requesting that NATO carry out a military exercise in Greenland in a bid to boost the region's security. That brought an angry response from Treasury Secretary Scott Besant this morning. If this is what all President Macron has to do when the French budget is in shambles, I would suggest that he focuses on other things for the French people. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is questioning the message European allies are sending following Denmark's recent decision, as well as that of seven other NATO nations, to deploy a handful of officers to Greenland. Nathan, the Treasury Secretary is also pushing back after a Danish pension fund said it plans to sell its U.S.

3:32Treasury holdings by the end of the month. Academaker Pensions cited U.S. fiscal policies and Trump's desire to own Greenland as reasons for the decision. Here's Besant again this morning in Davos. Well, the size of Denmark's investment in U.S. Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant. That is less than$100 million. They've been selling treasuries for years. I'm not concerned at all. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson's comments follow a U.S. market route yesterday that saw the S &P 500 log its worst day since October. And Bloomberg's John Tucker is here with the latest. John, good morning.

4:12And good morning, Nathan. Yeah, the S &P 500 erased its 2026 gains. Bond prices and the dollar fell, all after President Trump threatened tariffs on multiple European countries who have opposed his pressure to take over Greenland. JPMorgan Asset Management's Bob Michaels sees it this way. It seems crazy, except that things have a way of happening which people didn't think would happen. So you have to back away and de-risk a bit. Well, Michael says the sell-off in markets is a message to President Trump's administration to take action to restore calm, as officials did after Liberation Day tariffs rattled investors last year.

4:53Well, this morning, risk assets may have found a floor. U.S. Treasury yields they're backing down, and Japan's longer maturity bonds, they've rebounded after yields there hit a record high yesterday. Although Japan's route was a separate issue, it was just one more thing to test investor patience. In New York, I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio. All right, John, thank you. Welcome to the World Economic Forum move from Davos. Larry Fink, the interim co-chief of the WEF, is thinking about a venue change for the flagship event. On a post on LinkedIn, he brought up Detroit and Dublin and cities like Jakarta and Buenos Aires as possible future sites.

5:32A possible relocation would be a blow to Switzerland, which has benefited from the forum being held in the Swiss Alps for decades. Well, turning back to the White House now, Now, Karen, President Trump spent much of his news conference defending the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis that has sparked confrontations between officers and demonstrators and led to nationwide protests. The president said his team needs to focus on highlighting arrests of violent migrants as he held up a series of photos of people he says are criminal illegal aliens. In many cases, they're murderers, they're drug lords, drug dealers.

6:04They're the mentally insane. Some of them who are brutal killers, they're mentally insane. They're killers, but they're insane. The president says immigration and customs enforcement agents can sometimes make mistakes, even as he broadly defended the crackdown. Bloomberg News has learned the Justice Department's issued subpoenas against top Minnesota officials accused of conspiring to impede the federal enforcement. While staying in the nation's capital, Nathan, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments over President Trump's effort to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. And Bloomberg's Amy Morris has more from Washington.

6:38Fed Chair Jay Powell is expected to attend the Supreme Court hearing on the Trump administration's attempts to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook based on allegations that she committed mortgage fraud, which she denies. Cook spoke about those allegations in November at the Brookings Institution. In multiple briefs filed by my very skilled legal team, questions related to this case and its potential impact on the Federal Reserve have been addressed at length. Critics say the justices are being asked to effectively bless Trump's efforts to undermine the Fed's independence, giving the president the power over interest rate policy.

7:13In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio. Amy, thank you. Turning to company earnings now, shares of Netflix are down more than five and a half percent in early trading. Fourth quarter results largely beat Wall Street estimates. But Netflix issued a cautious forecast for the months ahead, citing higher program spending and the cost of closing its deal for Warner Brothers Discovery. David Joyce covers Netflix for Seaport Research Partners. They did beat in the December quarter, but it's always about what are you going to do for me next? And while the revenue guide was a little better than expected, the margin was a little bit lighter for the guidance.

7:49So I think people are concerned that maybe the Warner Brothers discovery deal does have something to do with the long-term growth outlook that the management has that might not be as rosy as investors had. Seaport Research Partners' David Joyce. Netflix says the Warner Brothers deal expected to add$275 million in costs for this year, and it also plans to increase spending on films and TV shows by 10 % this year. Well, Nathan, shares of United Airlines taking off this morning. They're up more than 4%. The airline beat Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter and anticipates a strong 2026. It credits demand from high-spending domestic passengers and international travelers.

8:34Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. Mayor Zoran Mamdani and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders joined striking nurses on the picket line yesterday in New York City. 15 ,000 nurses went on strike more than a week ago and there is still no talk scheduled. The nurses say they are facing extreme staffing shortages and that patient care is suffering. Mayor Mamdani. This is about safe working conditions. This is about a fair contract. This is about dignity.

9:11Senator Sanders says the medical industry is more interested in turning a profit. The people of this country are sick and tired of the greed in the health care industry. In a statement, New York Presbyterian said all of its hospitals and emergency rooms remain open and are operating smoothly. They also push back on pay and benefits. The hospital said its nurses are among the highest paid in the city with an average annual compensation of$163 ,000. Actor and director Timothy Busfield is ordered release from a jail in Albuquerque, New Mexico until his trial. Busfield is accused of having sexual contact with two child actors on the set of the TV show The Cleaning Lady.

9:56Busfield's wife, actor Melissa Gilbert, wrote a letter saying her husband has the strongest moral compass of anyone she has ever known. She spoke outside the court. I want to express my gratitude to this judge who heard everything he needed to hear and made his ruling in a very considered and considerate and judicial way. The judge has ruled the defendant be released on his own recognizance. Lindsay Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney in eastern Virginia, is leaving her post. Halligan's departure comes after the chief judge in the region issued an order that she may not continue beyond her 120-day term.

10:35Halligan brought charges against two of President Trump's biggest perceived political enemies, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Global news, 24 hours a day and whenever you want it. with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg. Karen. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update, and for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. From 1991 until this year, only two center fielders were named for induction of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ken Griffey Jr. and Kirby Puckett. Two center fielders are going to go in this year.

11:10Carlos Beltran, a nine-time All-Star, played 20 seasons, and Andrew Jones, who spent 12 years in Atlanta, won 10 straight Gold Glove Awards. Only three college basketball teams still undefeated. One of them is Miami of Ohio, who beat Kent State in overtime and now has a record of 20-0. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. This is Caroline Hyde. And I'm Ed Ludlow, inviting you to join us for Bloomberg Tech, a daily podcast focusing exclusively on technology, innovation, and the future of business. Every weekday, we bring you the top headlines from the world's biggest tech companies.

11:49From finance to defence, AI to entertainment, and from startups to the magnificent seven. We highlight the latest stories of the people and companies pushing the tech sector to new frontiers and the politics that shape global tech markets. We do this all every weekday, then bring you the most important conversations and analysis in our podcast. Search for Bloomberg Tech on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. Join us every afternoon on your commute home and stay ahead of the tech news cycle. That's the Bloomberg Tech Podcast. I'm Caroline Hyde in New York. And I'm Ed Ludlow in San Francisco.

12:23Subscribe today, wherever you get your podcasts.

12:47by major geopolitical shifts in just his first year back in office. Chief among them now, the president's stated desire to take control of Greenland. We need it for security purposes. We need it for national security and even world security. It's very important. A man at a White House news conference heard live on Bloomberg Radio, the president said he thinks he'll be able to work out a deal that'll make everyone happy. Joining us now from Davos this morning, Bloomberg surveillance anchor Lisa Bromowitz. Lisa, is Davos man ready to make a deal over Greenland? Good morning. Good morning, Nathan.

13:21And that is a perfect way of putting it. The Davos man is 100 % President Donald Trump of the United States. Not only has his whole image loomed over the entirety of this conference, but really all eyes are trained on that 2.30 p.m. local time, 8.30 a.m. Eastern time speech by President Trump. We understand that it could still be at that time, even after the delay in his plane. His plane had a slight issue with some of the lighting and just to be abundantly cautious. They turned around and delayed them about three hours or so. And so people are wondering when the speech will actually be. But nonetheless, everyone is trying to see what tone he'll take.

13:59We'll be taking the temperature up or down. So far this morning, Nathan, we've heard already from Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, And he had a more fiery type of tone to him, calling that Denmark pension fund that said it was selling treasuries irrelevant, that Denmark in general was irrelevant and that Europeans should do the right thing. So really interesting setup heading into this discussion. That is an interesting setup, given what we heard yesterday from Treasury Secretary Besson, was that European allies should sit back, take a deep breath and see what happens once President Trump comes.

14:31We've seen some pretty heated response as well from allies ahead of this speech. I mean, what kind of atmosphere could the president be headed into here? Well, it's an interesting question. On one hand, of course, there's the knee jerk, anger, frustration, feeling betrayed, all of those emotions that really fed into people looking for some sort of South America trade, just to be frank. On the flip side, and what you're hearing from the leaders of Finland and the United Kingdom and others, is take a step back, take a deep breath, listen, try to make a discussion that will actually have a fruitful outcome rather than make rash decisions on emotions.

15:10We were speaking with Finland President Alexander Stubb yesterday, and he was saying, you know, these things are a negotiation, and you need to have an open mind, and you cannot act purely out of emotion. And that's kind of how he's approaching it. you've heard a very different response from France's Emmanuel Macron yesterday with his sunglasses on inside because he has been really pushing back against us and saying it's blackmail and coercion and they're not going to stand for it. Yeah, you sort of highlight the kind of disparate approaches to the president from allies. It raises a question about whether this is raising a potential of fracturing the European alliance, not just in how it approaches the president, but in its own cohesion.

15:56This is either a feature or a bug, but certainly a consistent feature of the European Union for years. And part of the issue has been this sort of fracture within the union about how to deal with certain things. Think about the relationship with China. Think about the relationship with the United States and certainly think about the relationship that the entire continent has with President Donald Trump, a real question about what kind of cohesion there can be. And then behind all of that, does the European trade deal with the United States stand, given the fact that some of these new tariffs would be in addition to that or potentially interfere with that?

16:31We've heard from some government officials from the United States saying they expect this deal to still stand, similar kind of rhetoric coming out of the European Union. But a real question here, and this is part of the reason why people had such angst coming into this, when is a deal actually a deal, right? I mean, if you end up adding tariffs to it, then is it a moving target that can shift around at any time? How do businesses plan if they don't have a good sense of exactly what the landscape of tariffs looks like? That I think people are looking to clarify as well. Is this a moving target or is a deal a deal?

17:02Just about a minute left here, Lisa. How does all this potentially overshadow what we've heard from the president is going to be his message to Americans back home addressing their affordability concerns? You know, that would have been front and center. And that was how he was billing it. If he came here and he discussed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for an hour to the stage of Davos, I think that it would fall on some frustrated ears who are looking for the geopolitical discussion. Nevertheless, very much an eye needs to be focused from his political perspective on some of the angst and the concerns about affordability back home.

17:36And you're certainly hearing that from a lot of businesses here in Davos as well. So it has to toggle between the two. And I think that's what people are looking for. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston, and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121. Plus, listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces.

18:19And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it, in five minutes or less. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

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