Business

Skip next section Quick recap before we resume, plus what to expect Thursday at Davos01/22/2026January 22, 2026Quick recap before we resume, plus what to expect Thursday at DavosUS President Donald Trump touched on a variety of topics during a lengthy speech to government officials and business elite on Wednesday. But he made headlines when he said he won't use military force to acquire Greenland. Later in the day, Trump said he had a productive meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and that the pair had "formed the framework of a future deal" regarding Greenland. Given that he had a deal, Trump said he was backing down from his earlier threat of imposing a 10% charge on eight European countries, including Denmark, that opposed his push to acquire the Arctic island. On Thursda...

01/20/2026January 20, 2026New US tariffs on the EU would be a 'mistake,' von der Leyen saysVon der Leyen spoke on several topics, but Trump's threats against Greenland stole the limelightImage: Gian Ehrenzeller/KEYSTONE/dpa/picture allianceEuropean Commmission President Ursula von der Leyen has told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the world is changing and called for Europe to adapt accordingly. During her speech, von der Leyen also addressed issues like Russia's invasion of Ukraine, economic upheaval and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI).  She confessed, while concluding the speech with a focus on Greenland, that "when I started preparing for this address, security in the high north was not the main theme." But von der Leyen said it would be a "mistake" for the Trump ad...

Japan has criticized new Chinese restrictions on exporting so-called dual-use goods to the country, imposed after comments from its prime minister on Chinese military drills near Taiwan upset Beijing.  "A measure such as this, targeting only our country, differs significantly from international practice, is absolutely unacceptable and deeply regrettable," Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara saidd.  Dual use items are goods, software or technologies that can have both civilian and military applications, and can include certain key rare earths used to make items like drones and computer chips.  Minoru Kihara called the Chinese step 'deeply regrettable,' with Japan yet to announce any measures in retaliationImage: Motoya Taguchi/Jiji Press/picture allian...

Annual sales figures for 2025 show Tesla has lost its crown as the world's top electric vehicle seller to Chinese rival BYD. Elon Musk's Tesla reported a bigger-than-expected fall in fourth-quarter deliveries on Friday and delivered 1.64 million cars in 2025, down nine percent from the previous year. On Thursday, BYD said it sold 2.26 million battery-powered cars in 2025. Tesla came under pressure in 2025 Tesla said it delivered 418,227 vehicles in the October–December quarter, down 15.6 percent from 495,570 a year earlier. The slump followed the end of a $7,500 tax credit in the United States in September, while Tesla also struggled with political backlash against outspoken Musk and rising competition from Chinese and European rivals.BYD said sales outside of China climbed to a recor...

Bulgaria adopted the euro on Thursday despite opposition in some sectors of society. Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), welcomed Bulgaria's inclusion in the eurozone. "The euro is a powerful symbol of what Europe can achieve when we work together, and of the shared values and collective strength that we can leverage to confront the global geopolitical uncertainty that we face at the moment," she said in a statement. The Balkan country, an EU member since 2007, joins the single currency zone after Croatia's entry in January 2023. The move brings the number of Europeans using the currency to more than 350 million. Its accession leaves only six of the 27 EU nations outside the currency union: Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Denmark. ...

The European Union's planned Mercosur trade agreement with four Latin American countries appeared at risk of yet another delay, or possibly even collapse, on Wednesday, a day before leaders were set to discuss it at an end-of-year summit in Brussels. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appealed for leaders to get the deal over the line, but French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni both expressed hesitancy in speeches to their national parliaments.  As one of the groups most opposed to the planned deal, French farmers staged protests across the country, including outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in Brazil, President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva threatened that if the deal was not finalized as planned this year, he...

Amid tariff disputes, the war in Ukraine and environmental problems, Europe is looking for a new direction for its economic strategy. A key question is what role eco-friendly production and agriculture, and the protection of natural resources should play in the future. Through its 2019 Green Deal, the EU has been working towards making its industries more efficient and climate-neutral by 2050. But the plan is facing increasing criticism and pressure. Not least from the conservative EPP group in the European Parliament, which is seeking to gain majorities with the help of far-right parties. Several resolutions are currently being watered down, while the implementation of certain measures is being postponed or even completely rolled back.  Loosening of reporting obligations for companies ...

"VitiVoltaic" projects aim to make viticulture fit for climate change. The term is a portmanteau of the Latin genus name for the grapevine, vitis vinifera, and the word for solar power generation, photovoltaics. This new technology makes it possible to harvest two very different things on two levels: Electricity above and wine grapes below. Pilot projects are underway to test which technology works where — and at what price. In Germany's southwestern Rheingau region, known for its picturesque vineyards, the Hochschule Geisenheim University (HGU) specializes in all aspects of the wine industry. Here, researchers have created a test facility to determine how the region's beloved white Riesling might sustainably thrive with the help of photovoltaic (PV) modules despite changes to the climate...

China has again overtaken the US to become Germany's top trading partner, thanks to a rise in imports to Germany in the first three quarters of 2025.  This comes amid tariff tensions with both countries, albeit with Donald Trump's trade policies probably getting the most attention, and as German exports to both the core markets falter. Car sales suffered in particular. What were the core figures?  The government's statistics office, Destatis, published corrected data on Wednesday showing a total trade volume with China of €185.9 billion (roughly $215 billion) between January and September. That's an increase of 0.6% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, trade with the US was down 3.9% compared to the first nine months of 2024, standing at €184.7 billion.  China had usurped...

Large language models like ChatGPT infringe on German authors' rights laws if they use song lyrics in their responses without having paid license fees for them, a Munich court ruled on Tuesday.  Judge Elke Schwager at the Munich District Court I said that OpenAI, the US company that owns ChatGPT, would be charged damages for the unauthorized usage. She did not specify a sum.  The claimant and a German journalists' trade union both claimed the case could have far-reaching implications for AI or large language models and intellectual property and copyright laws. The verdict can be appealed. "We do not agree with the verdict and are examining further steps," OpenAI said in response, adding that it respected intellectual property rights and was in negotiations with relevant organizations a...