<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-820x542.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-579392" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-820x542.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-1536x1015.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



U.S. President Donald Trump has only been in office for a matter of days, but his impact on markets has already been significant.



U.S. stocks notched back-to-back weekly gains last week and although the rally paused on Friday, the S&amp;P 500 still hit a fresh record during the day.



It comes after the U.S. leader called for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices in a Thursday address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Investors have also been betting on potential tax cuts and deregulation under the new president, sending stocks higher.



Not everyone is bullish looking ahead, however, with some — such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon — suggesting markets could be overpriced.



After a week of interviews with business leaders, lawmakers and investors in the Swiss ski resort, here’s what top industry names told CNBC:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-larry-fink-ceo-and-chairman-blackrock"><a></a>Larry Fink, CEO and chairman, BlackRock</h2>



“I’m cautiously optimistic — that being said I have scenarios where it could be pretty bad,” Fink told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.



“I believe if we were to unlock all this private capital we’re going to have enormous growth, [but], at the same time, some of this is going to unlock new inflationary pressures,” he explained. “And I do believe that’s the risk that is not factored into the market.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Ted Pick, CEO, Morgan Stanley</h2>



Pick said he believed corporate earnings could lift growth in markets over the next 12 to 24 months as they “continue to be strong.”



“That is kind of the indicator … How many companies right now are really talking about recession, how many are talking about inflation? &nbsp;I feel like the earnings pull through looks pretty sanguine,” he said.



“More importantly, I know we like to look at the index, but the index is dominated by half a dozen technology companies — which, by the way are all doing great — but if you look at the deregulation possibilities in the energy sector, in the financial services sector, those sectors are still in multiples that aren’t that expensive,” Pick added.



“If you’re an investor and you think about allocating over the next 12 to 18 months, sure there could be a drawdown at the index level, but [do] you really want to be thinking about where do I have sector exposure?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank</h2>



Lagarde told Karen Tso that there was divergence in monetary policy between the euro area and the U.S. due to a “different economic setting.”



She also said that she was not “overly concerned” about the risk that inflation abroad will be imported into Europe, adding that she expected the ECB will continue to gradually lower interest rates as the price growth rate moves toward target.



“We are certainly interested to see the U.S. grow, because growth in the U.S. has always been a favorable factor for the rest of the world,” Lagarde said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Nicolai Tangen, CEO, Norges Bank Investment Management&nbsp;</h2>



“I don’t think you should give any advice to the U.S., but if you look at the risk to financial markets, I think inflation is for sure one, all driven by tariffs,” Tangen said Tuesday. “Geopolitical tensions generally are negative for financial markets and for financial returns.”



Tangen added that “purely financially,” Trump’s arrival was going to be “very positive” for a lot of U.S. companies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan Chase</h2>



Dimon said he thinks U.S. asset prices are “kind of inflated” at their current levels.



“By any measure, they are in the top 10% or 15%,” Dimon told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday, referring to U.S. stock markets. “They’re elevated and you need fairly good outcomes to justify those prices.



“We’re all hoping for that, and having pro-growth strategies helps make that happen, but there are negatives out there and they can tend to surprise you,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>David Solomon, CEO, Goldman Sachs</h2>



Solomon said markets were in risk-on mode and that there was a sense of optimism in equities both because of the new U.S. administration and because of advances in technology.



Solomon also told Andrew Ross Sorkin that he was noticing a focus on growth, in the U.S., as well as in his conversations with European clients at Davos.



“I think people are optimistic, and it’s not going to be a smooth, perfect path, but people are optimistic that we are going to run a more growth-prone agenda. We’re going to free up some investment, we’re going to unlock the private sector a little but more, and that’s got to be constructive,” he said.



“It’s hard to dispute the fact that equity multiples are high &#8230; I think the equity markets exhibit a sense of optimism at the moment, but they also exhibit a sense of optimism around growth and technology, in particular this AI wave. Of course it’s not going to be a straight line, but some of the technology we’re seeing, the opportunities for that technology to improve productivity meaningfully are extraordinary.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Khaldoon al-Mubarak, CEO, Mubadala&nbsp;</h2>



“Continuing on the trends we’ve seen in 2024 being a positive year in most markets … I see that continuing in 2025, I see a continuation of strong tailwinds in the in the core markets, the U.S., Asia, particularly the growth driven markets in Asia,” al-Mubarak told CNBC’s Dan Murphy Monday.



“I see a continuation of good tailwinds in technology and healthcare and financial services, life sciences,” he added. “So I would say, maybe almost the same words I used last year: cautiously optimistic. When I look at 2025, it’s going to be an exciting year.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Ray Dalio, Founder, Bridgewater</h2>



Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio told CNBC that price-earnings ratios were high in U.S. markets, but that there could be further scope to climb in artificial intelligence beneficiaries.



“We have gone pretty far already &#8230;I think it’s led by the sectors that are great sectors, the disruptors, AI and so on.”



“I don’t think it’s been carried down to the applications of AI, to the uses of AI &#8230; the applications of AI are under-discounted I think.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America</h2>



Moynihan told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Tuesday he thought U.S. markets had room to climb in 2025, and that the key concern for business and financial services would be regulatory policy, rather than inflation.



“Our research team thinks there’s room to go this year, they predict the market to go up. Not as much as last year, and the unusual thing is you had a couple years in a row of very strong growth, but that was coming off a couple years of very unusual times,” he said.



Moynihan added, “I believe that if you look at the key thing for businesses generally, including financial services and the banking businesses, it’s the regulation question.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Sergio Ermotti, CEO, UBS</h2>



Tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump could prevent disinflation and keep interest rates higher, the banking chief told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Tuesday.



“Inflation is much more sticky than we have been saying,”&nbsp;Ermotti said.



“Tariffs will probably not really help inflation to come down. And therefore I don’t see [interest] rates coming down as fast as people believe,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>C. S. Venkatakrishnan, CEO, Barclays</h2>



Venkatakrishnan, whose British bank makes around 40% of its revenue in the U.S., said he was “optimistic” about U.S. deal activity this year.



“I think there are two things driving it. One is interest rates have reached a relatively stable level. Our own economists are calling for maybe one rate cut in the U.S. over the next year,” he told Andrew Ross Sorkin.



“They’re still high, but they’re stable, so you can at least plan better, because you don’t have the volatility in rates. The second is with the change in [U.S.] administration, it should be easier for mergers to take place.”



Venkatakrishnan added that he expected President Trump to relax regulation, which would be “generally good for business sentiment and good for business opportunity.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Rachel Reeves, UK Finance Minister</h2>



The U.K. needs to attract more oversees investment to boost economic growth, Reeves told CNBC.



“My message to U.S. investors and global investors too is: Britain is open for business, we want your investment.”



She also discussed Trump’s global tariff threats.



“I do understand that President Trump is concerned about countries that are running large and persistent surpluses on the trade balance with the U.S. That’s not the case for the U.K.,” Reeves said.



“We are not part of the problem here. So we, the U.K., increased trade with President Trump last time he was in office.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Christian Sinding, CEO, EQT</h2>



Sinding, CEO of Swedish private equity firm EQT, told CNBC’s Karen Tso and Steve Sedgwick on the ground that the market for M&amp;A and big business deals was “continuing to improve.”



“We had a record year in 2024 we did over $20 billion of investments,” he said. “We did more than $10 billion of exits, and that’s kind of building up to 2025, [when] I think a lot of the market participants are now ready to transact, whether it’s private equity or family offices or strategic buyers. And, of course, if you look at the global capital markets, the IPO market is wide open. The credit markets are strong, so we’re fairly positive looking into the next year.”

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Dimon, Dalio, Lagarde and more: Top CEOs and policymakers on what’s next for markets

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-579329" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Workers produce garments for export to overseas markets at Sihong Guoshun Garment Co., Ltd. in Weiying town, Sihong County, Suqian city, East China’s Jiangsu province, on January 23, 2025.. Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



China’s factory activity in January unexpectedly contracted, in part due to a slow season ahead of the Lunar New year, reversing the growth seen in the previous three months&nbsp;and keeping alive calls for stronger fiscal support to boost the economy.



The official purchasing managers’ index for January came in at 49.1, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed, compared with Reuters poll estimates of 50.1.



PMI had stayed above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction for the past three months, coming in at 50.1 in December, 50.3 in November and 50.1 in October, according to the official data.



The manufacturing PMI in January tends to be softer, as migrant workers return to hometowns ahead of the Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 29, said Hui Shan, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs.



The blue-chip CSI 300 reversed gains earlier in the day to trade slightly lower, following the data release.



Despite the softer manufacturing PMI, the overall demand outlook appears positive, said Bruce Pang, senior research fellow at the National Institution for Finance and Development, citing stronger readings in two price sub-indexes.



The indexes measuring price levels for purchasing and selling major raw materials improved in January — albeit still in contraction territory — Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the NBS said in a press release. A gauge of companies’ production and operation activity outlook expanded to 55.3, Zhao added, showing that most manufacturers were increasingly confident about business expansion after the holidays.



China’s non-manufacturing PMI, which measures services and construction activity, fell to 50.2 in January, compared to 52.2 in the preceding month.



The services PMI rose 50.3, less than the prior month, but still expanding given holiday-induced demand, especially in sectors benefiting from the seasonal travel rush, such as public transportation, hotels, food and beverage industries, NBS’ Zhao said.



The construction PMI fell to 49.3, as activity stalled in the lead up to the festival.



“The disappointing PMI data underscores the difficulty policymakers face in achieving a sustained recovery in growth,” Zichuan Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.



While the economic activity might pick up in the coming months as policymakers are likely to step up stimulus and front-load deficit spending at the start of 2025, the economy is still struggling amid the structural headwinds and tariff threats from the new U.S. administration, Huang said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dwindling-profits"><a></a>Dwindling profits</h2>



China’s industrial profits in 2024 fell 3.3% from the previous year, extending declines to a third consecutive year. In December, however, profit jumped 11% from a year earlier, growing for the first time since July.



Corporate profits have been recovering from a sharp 27% year-on-year plunge in September — their steepest drop since March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. They had dropped 7.3% on year in November and 10% in October, as a slump in the real estate sector and bleak income prospects continued to weigh on consumer demand.



Industrial profits are a key indicator of the financial health of factories, utilities and mines in China.



The world’s second-largest economy met official annual growth target last year, expanding 5.0%, as a barrage of stimulus measures kicked in. Economists had pointed to the industrial output growth outpacing retail sales, underscoring the country’s supply-side strength while domestic demand remained weak.



The manufacturers for consumer goods saw steady growth in their profits, increasing 3.4% last year from a year ago, NBS statistician Yu Weining said in a statement, boosted by policy incentives for consumption and strong exports.



A PMI sub-index measuring China’s new export orders stood at 46.4 in January, its lowest level since February last year. The level was “not bad” given the seasonality factor during Chinese new year, Pang said, noting that “the frontloading of exports due potential trade tensions is still ongoing.”



Chinese exporters have been rushing to frontload shipments due to worries over potential tariff hikes. U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional 10% tariffs as soon as Feb. 1. During his campaign trail he had suggested tariffs upward of 60% on Chinese goods.



China’s economic downturn has not yet seen a “turning point,” Goldman Sachs’ Shan said, given still-weak domestic consumption and uncertainty over the scale and timing of U.S. tariffs. “The bottom line is that we do need a large stimulus from the government to even have a chance to improve inflation and confidence,” she added.

108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz

China PMI surprises as factory activity contracts in January; December industrial profits jump

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-579253" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 19, 2025. Dado Ruvic | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



President Donald Trump wants a U.S. investor to take a major stake in ByteDance’s TikTok. Several parties are in contention even as potential buyers face a litany of legal hurdles and barriers.



After stepping in to restore TikTok in the U.S. and delaying a law that would effectively ban the app, Trump is looking for avenues to keep the popular platform afloat.



He has put forward a proposal for an American stakeholder to buy the company and then sell a 50% stake to the U.S. government, which will jointly run the app along with the private party.&nbsp;



Trump reportedly said Saturday that he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and that he would likely decide on its future in the next 30 days.



So, who are the likely contenders for one of the most popular apps in the U.S.?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-elon-musk-nbsp"><a></a>Elon Musk&nbsp;</h2>



Trump has already flagged several major investors within his inner circle as acceptable buyers, one of which is Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk.&nbsp;



The world’s richest person is leading Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, has close business ties to China and has voiced opposition to the TikTok ban. 



Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the Chinese government was considering a plan to have Musk acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, citing anonymous sources. That followed a report from the Wall Street Journal, which claimed TikTok’s CEO had been soliciting advice from Musk ahead of Trump’s inauguration. 



CNBC was unable to reach Musk for comment.&nbsp;



“Elon Musk continues to be front and center as a potential bidder for TikTok which likely includes some tech partners/outside investors to get a deal done,” financial services company Wedbush Securities said in a research note on Wednesday.&nbsp;



“Musk would be hand picked by Beijing and his ironclad relationship with Trump would make this a very logical choice in our view,” the note added.&nbsp;



Nat Schindler, an analyst at Scotiabank, also noted that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has demonstrated his interest in global social media platforms.



However, Paul Triolo of Albright Stone Group also sees some potential obstacles for the tech tycoon.&nbsp;



“Musk is under fire already for owning X and the perception that he is using it to promote certain political ideas, and any involvement in TikTok could draw additional fire and potentially antitrust scrutiny,” he said.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-larry-ellison"><a></a>Larry Ellison</h2>



Trump has also said he’d “like” to see Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison purchase the platform.



Ellison, a longtime Trump supporter, stood beside the President at a press conference on his AI infrastructure investment plans on Tuesday, where Trump was asked questions about a potential TikTok deal. 



“What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half and we’ll give you the permit,” Trump said before turning to Ellison to ask if the deal sounded reasonable.



“Sounds like a good deal to me Mr. President,” Ellison replied.&nbsp;



Ellison and his company are currently at the center of the TikTok dilemma, operating as a cloud infrastructure provider for ByteDance in the U.S.



Given its existing relationship with Tiktok, Oracle and is “directly invested in Tiktok’s success in the region,” Scotiabank’s Schindler said.&nbsp;



Ellison had bid for Tiktok, along with Walmart, back in 2020 when Trump first pushed for a ban on the platform. Neither company responded to CNBC’s request for comment. 



Trump had approved of the Walmart-Oracle deal in principle, which would’ve seen the tech and retail giants partner to take over the video-sharing app in the U.S., avoiding a shutdown. However, the Trump administration’s attempt to ban TikTok in the U.S. fell through in the face of legal challenges.



Ellison later joined a group of investors that helped Elon Musk buy social media platform Twitter, now known as X, in 2022. 



″[We believe] Oracle/Ellison could play a pivotal role in any deal given their key technology partnership with TikTok and his appearance at the White House with Project Stargate,” Wedbush said.



Wedbush added that it expects a slew of TikTok bids to come over the coming weeks from a host of players with Musk and Ellison leading the pack.



According to a National Public Radio report on Saturday, the Trump administration is working on a plan to save TikTok that would involve Oracle and a group of outside investors effectively taking control of it global operations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perplexity-ai"><a></a>Perplexity AI</h2>



California-based artificial intelligence search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid for TikTok to ByteDance on Jan. 18, as it seeks to create a new merged entity combining Perplexity, TikTok U.S. and new capital partners, CNBC learned.



Following Trump’s comments on a TikTok deal structure, the AI company revised its merger proposal on Sunday to also allow for the U.S. government to own up to 50% of the new company upon future IPO, according to a proposal document seen by CNBC. 



The document proposes ByteDance offer TikTok U.S., without its recommendation algorithm, in exchange for the company’s existing investors receiving equity in the merged company.&nbsp;



The deal would reportedly bring more video to Perplexity — recently valued at about $9 billion — as it gains increasing investor interest amid the generative AI boom and competes with OpenAI and Google. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-players-serious-money-nbsp"><a></a>Big players, serious money&nbsp;</h2>



Experts flagged several other parties likely to be interested in a potential deal for TikTok, adding that the barriers to entry were high.&nbsp;



Given the financial stakes of a TikTok deal, it’s unlikely that some rogue investor is going to swoop in and buy the platform on the cheap, according to Albright Stone Group’s Triolo.&nbsp;



“While an up-to-date valuation on TikTok is difficult to come up with, it is likely to the order of $40-80 billion, meaning whoever decides to jump in has to be ready with some serious money,” he said.&nbsp;



He added that potential suitors are likely to include some of America’s largest social media and technology players, such as Meta and Google, in addition to Musk’s X. 



Meta and Google didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC inquiry.



Sarah Kreps, the director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, however, warned that players such as Meta, Google and Musk getting a substantial stake in TikTok could raise antitrust questions.



Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler noted that there were also a number of other players, including existing investors BlackRock, Coatue, and General Atlantic, who own a large chunk of TikTok’s parent company. According to him, some of these investors are likely to participate in any sale of the U.S. platform by investing in the new entity.



“Other large VCs, hedge funds, and asset managers from Tiger to Fidelity would also likely show interest in a fast growing global platform with such a huge viewer base,” said Schindler, adding that finding investors to own a part of Tiktok won’t be a problem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mrbeast-nbsp"><a></a>MrBeast&nbsp;</h2>



The fervor surrounding a purchase of TikTok U.S. has also seen some unconventional players enter the fray.&nbsp;



Social media superstar MrBeast — real name Jimmy Donaldson — who has more than 100 million TikTok followers has posted several videos in which he indicated serious interest in buying the platform, claiming he has had talks with billionaires.&nbsp;



In one video, the internet personality claimed he had an official offer ready, jesting that he might be the new TikTok CEO. 



Media reports have also mentioned Donaldson and a group of investors preparing to make a bid for TikTok. 



On Thursday, Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesperson for Donaldson, told CNBC that “Several potential buyers are in ongoing discussions with Jimmy, but he has no exclusive agreements with any of them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-people-s-bid-for-tiktok"><a></a>‘The People’s Bid for TikTok’</h2>



Led by Project Liberty Founder Frank McCourt and involving Canadian businessman and TV personality Kevin O’Leary, “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” has made a $20 billion cash offer to buy TikTok.&nbsp;



O’Leary told CNBC last year that he wanted to buy the platform at a discount as any possible deal won’t include TikTok’s original algorithm. The organization said it already has a replacement for the algorithm to use for TikTok U.S. 



Following Trump’s comments on a 50% stake in the platform, both McCourt and O’Leary told CNBC this week that they were interested in a TikTok deal and were hoping to work with Trump to make it happen. 



McCourt has also told CNBC that he wants TikTok to run a decentralized social networking protocol, or DSNP, overseen by the Project Liberty Institute, a nonprofit founded by the billionaire.



Bidding interest aside, a number of legal and tech experts have told CNBC that Trump’s executive order to delay the TikTok ban contradicts the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling to uphold the PAFACA and could face legal opposition.



O’Leary also told CNBC on Monday that a TikTok deal could not happen under the current law, after the Supreme Court upheld an impending ban on TikTok under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or PAFACA, on Sunday. 



Beijing and its pending negotiations with Trump regarding trade with the U.S. is also expected to play a determining factor in whether the Chinese government would allow ByteDance to make a divestiture.



“In this game of high stakes poker between the Trump Administration and Beijing it’s clear TikTok is a big chip on the table,” Wedush said.



— CNBC’s Hayden Field contributed to this report



Correction: This copy has been updated to fix a quote attribution.

108088767-17373189882025-01-19t185837z_1888681257_rc26dca2p0uv_rtrmadp_0_usa-tiktok

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-578258" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rachel Reeves, UK Finance Minister, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025. Gerry Miller | CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The U.K. will soften some planned changes to its controversial non-dom tax rule following concerns of a millionaire exodus, the Treasury has confirmed.



Britain’s 200-year-old non-dom regime permits people living in the U.K., but who are domiciled elsewhere for tax purposes, to avoid paying levies on income and capital gains earnings overseas for up to 15 years. The regime has long courted controversy, leading U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in her October budget to confirm that it would be abolished from April 2025, and that all long-term residents would be subject to inheritance tax on their worldwide assets, including those held in trust.



Speaking at a fringe event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Reeves said the government would soon put forward an amendment to the country’s Finance Bill, increasing the generosity of a rule which allows non-doms to bring money to the UK without paying significant taxes.&nbsp;



“We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community,” Reeves told The Wall Street Journal’s Emma Tucker when asked about recent departures of the ultra-wealthy.



“In the finance bill, we will be tabling an amendment which makes more generous the temporary repatriation facility, which enables non-doms to bring money into the UK without paying significant taxes,” she added.



Reeves on Thursday also sought to reassure wealthy overseas investors that the changes would not affect double-taxation agreements held between the U.K. and other countries.



“There’s been some concerns from countries that have double taxation conventions with the U.K., including India, that they would be drawn in to be paying inheritance tax. That’s not the case. We’re not going to be changing those double taxation conventions,” she said.



In a statement to CNBC confirming the plans, a Treasury spokesperson said the tweaks were designed to motivate non-doms “to bring their funds to the U.K., encouraging them to spend and invest this money here.”



“While we do not expect these changes to impact the £33.8 billion of tax revenue that the OBR forecast to raise over five years, they reflect our continued engagement with stakeholders to make sure the reforms announced at Budget operate as intended,” the statement added.



The government’s October clampdown on non-doms formed part of wider measures aimed at the upper echelons, with new levies placed on private equity bosses, private schools, second homes and private jets.



Critics warned at the time that the moves would spark a mass exit of ultra wealthy individuals — many of whom, they said, would be key contributors to the government’s pro-investment agenda.



An estimated 10,800 millionaires left the U.K. last year, according to updated figures from global analytics firm New World Wealth and investment migration advisers Henley &amp; Partners, a 157% increase on 2023.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/live-tv/"></a>

108090637-1737563597358-1U8A1421

UK to soften tax rules for wealthy foreigners after millionaire exodus, Rachel Reeves says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577907" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091198-1737637105852-108090536-1737559226059-Untitled-2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">L-R: Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Some of the biggest names in technology have clashed after President Donald Trump unveiled his $500 billion private AI investment project.



Earlier this week, Trump announced a joint venture with OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank to invest billions of dollars in ramping up domestic computing capacity to boost AI development in the United States.



The project, dubbed Stargate, was unveiled at the White House by Trump, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Son will be the chairman of Stargate, while semiconductor company Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI will serve as key initial technology partners.



The executives committed to invest an initial $100 billion and up to $500 billion over the next four years.



The first blow was thrown by Elon Musk — a close ally to Trump and himself a key figure in AI with his startup xAI — who claimed in a post on his X social media platform that the companies involved in the project “don’t actually have the money” to fund the investment.



“SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority,” Musk added in a subsequent post. Altman, replying to Musk’s allegation, said. “Wrong, as you surely know.”



“Want to come visit the first site already under way?” Altman added. “This is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put [the U.S.] first.”



Musk chairs the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a major White House government efficiency effort. He was Trump’s biggest financial backer by far in the 2024&nbsp;election.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-possible-microsoft-openai-rift-emerging"><a></a>Possible Microsoft-OpenAI rift emerging</h2>



On Wednesday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff suggested the investment plan could create tensions between OpenAI and Microsoft, who are close partners.



OpenAI said Tuesday that it had ended an arrangement with Microsoft to serve as its exclusive cloud provider. The change in relationship was disclosed as part of the Stargate Project announcement.



“I think it’s extremely important that OpenAI gets to other platforms quickly because Microsoft is building their own AI,” Benioff told CNBC. “I don’t think that Microsoft will use OpenAI in the future, they’ll have their own frontier models.”



“They’ve said it very clearly that it’s too expensive and too hard for them, and that they want to have their own,” the Salesforce chief added. “That’s why they hired Mustafa Suleyman [as Microsoft AI CEO] — and Mustafa Suleyman and Sam Altman are not best friends.”



Microsoft last year appointed Suleyman, a co-founder of Google’s AI lab DeepMind, to lead its new AI division.



Microsoft is the single largest investor in OpenAI, having plowed billions of dollars of investment into the firm. It also offers OpenAI models on its Azure cloud platform as part of a commercial arrangement between the two firms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-i-m-good-for-my-80-billion"><a></a>‘I’m good for my $80 billion’</h2>



Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed concerns surrounding the tech giant’s relationship with OpenAI Wednesday, saying that the two continue to share a “critical partnership.”



“Sam [Altman] wants to continue with scaling laws to build out more compute in order for him to train more models,” Nadella told CNBC. “We have right of first refusal. He comes to us first. If we meet those needs, then we clear it. If not, he can go to these other providers.”



When asked about Musk’s claim that OpenAI and other companies involved in Stargate don’t have the funds to make up the total $100 billion initial commitment, Nadella said: “Look, all I know is, I’m good for my $80 billion.”



Microsoft announced at the start of 2025 that it plans to spend $80 billion this year on the construction of data centers to boost its AI efforts.



“I am going to spend $80 billion building out Azure,” Nadella told CNBC. “Customers can count on Microsoft.”



&#8211; CNBC’s Eamon Javers and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report

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From Musk to Nadella: Trump’s $500 billion AI project stirs drama among the biggest names in tech

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="589" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-820x589.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577904" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-820x589.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-300x215.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-125x90.jpg 125w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-768x552.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-1536x1103.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194278761-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">DAVOS, SWITZERLAND &#8211; JANUARY 19: A general view of a banner as World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting convenes under the theme of &#8216;Collaboration for the Intelligent Age&#8217; in Davos, Switzerland on January 19, 2025. The summit is expected to attract 3,000 participants, including business people, politicians, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations from more than 130 countries. (Photo by Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



This report is from this week’s CNBC’s “Inside India” newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse and the big businesses behind its meteoric rise. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-big-story"><a></a>The big story</h2>



Seven years ago in Davos, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke of India’s ambitions to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025.



“The people and youth of India are now ready to contribute to the creation of an economy of $5 trillion by 2025,” he outlined in his address at the 2018 World Economic Forum (WEF).



“Not only this, when innovation and entrepreneurship &#8230; help [individuals] to transform from job seeker to job giver, then the number of avenues that will be opened up for their country and your business can only be imagined,” Modi added.



It’s fair to say that meeting that goal has proven to be tough.



India’s economy is projected to be around $4.27 trillion according to the International Monetary Fund this year, $0.73 trillion short of Modi’s target.



Its slowing economy has raised questions on the country’s lofty growth targets. Market watchers argue that India is now in the midst of a cyclical slowdown.



What is interesting though is that the India story &#8211; and its growth potential &#8211; continue to grab the attention of investors in India, Davos and beyond.



India is among the top five territories where global CEOs polled by consultancy firm PwC are looking to invest in over the next 12 months. The other territories cracking the top 5 among the 4,700 CEOs polled across 109 countries, were the U.S., U.K., Germany and mainland China.



Optimism on India has spilled over in the ongoing discussions in Davos.



Speaking to CNBC at the sidelines of this year’s World Economic Forum, Mubadala Investment Company’s managing director and group CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak described India as a “very, very interesting country (and) very interesting market.”



Among the metrics that stand out to him on India’s potential is its large, yet young demographic. Around 480 million Indians are below the age of 18 &#8211; that is larger than the population of the U.S., the combined population of Europe, the number of people in the Middle East as well South America’s population below the age of 18, Mubarak said.



“We’ve been investing in India &#8230; for years, and we continue to work on building our portfolio in India and really getting into that wave that’s started already,” he said.



This cycle, he added, “will continue, in my view, going forward.”



Mubadala’s investments in India include the Tata Group-owned Tata Power Renewable Energy and Reliance Industries-backed technology giant Jio Platforms.



Prosus, is another investment company looking to cash in on India’s growth potential, especially the country’s technology industry.



“You saw the impact of technology in India &#8230; and they are saying ‘we are ready for the next step’,” the company’s CEO Fabricio Bloisi told CNBC at the sidelines of the summit.



“Prosus is ready to invest much, much more India. We have invested like $8 billion there over the last few years and we will invest much more,” he added.



Indian startups Prosus has invested in include food delivery firm Swiggy, edtech firm BYJU’s, agritech player Dehaat and e-commerce platform Meesho.



Going big on tech



The interest in India &#8211; particularly the opportunities in its tech and startup space &#8211; is in line with the government’s wider focus on developing the sector.



Among the key priorities of India’s delegation to Davos this year was to deepen its foothold in the semiconductor industry by way of government incentives and targets.



This includes exploring the development of its own Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in the next three to five years, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of railways, information technology and information and broadcasting told CNBC-TV18 at the sidelines of the WEF meeting.



Other projects he revealed include India’s plans to develop 25 indigenous chipsets that are designed and fabricated in the country. It is looking forward to rolling out the first chip by September and the first fab by 2026.



Vaishnaw also outlined the government’s goal of providing underlying compute power with 1,000 GPUs, especially for the benefit of start-ups that lack access.



This is part of the government’s focus this year to foster talent and leverage data to create robust datasets to train AI models, he added.



Vaishnaw had led what is reportedly India’s largest delegation to Davos this year, featuring representatives from eight states: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, with each vying for investments for their upcoming initiatives.



For instance, Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reportedly showcased the state’s business-friendly policies in hopes of wooing multinationals like Unilever, PepsiCo, Google Cloud and AstraZeneca.



Its neighbor Telangana, meanwhile, exhibited its expertise in electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. Elsewhere, Maharashtra reportedly presented itself as India’s industrial powerhouse.



The hefty presence of Indian officials at Davos is likely an acknowledgement of the fact that companies, particularly those that have only been around for a few years, need more capital than they can raise domestically.



Foreign investments into the country are “drying up” due to economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks, according to Dhiraj Nim, a foreign exchange strategist and economist at ANZ Bank.



One way forward is for the Indian government to “foster greater confidence by reducing political and regulatory costs, improving the ease of doing business in India,” he suggested.



“There is a lot India can do even if global variables are beyond control. India has plans to become a developed nation by 2047, so we would need much stronger growth than the 6 &#8211; 7% we are getting used to. And growth will have to be realized by realizing more investments and also beefing up labor force productivity and technological capabilities,” Nim added.



The issue of how India plans to continue growing at a sustainable pace, while providing jobs and increasing productivity, is top of mind for the Indian government. In Davos, India’s Railways, Electronics and Information Broadcasting Minister Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw sat down to discuss with a group of global executives, investors and Indian entrepreneurs. The breakfast organized by Brunswick Group and CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, allowed executives and investors to ask the Minister questions and discuss the investing environment in India.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-to-know"><a></a>Need to know</h2>



India might lower its disinvestment target for FY25. The country’s government is looking to cut its disinvestment and asset monetization goals by 40% — or to less than 300 billion rupees ($3.47 billion) from 500 billion rupees — for the financial year 2024 to 2025, The Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the discussion. Regulatory obstacles and valuation difficulties have proven to be roadblocks, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has still sold more stake in state-run firms than previous governments.



The Quad convened and reaffirmed their partnership. Foreign ministers of the group, comprising U.S., Australia, India and Japan, met on Tuesday and emphasized the importance of preserving a free Indo-Pacific, according to a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington. The meeting, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day in the job, was meant to indicate that countering China was a top priority for the Trump administration, analysts said.



Oil prices could rise in India. The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russian oil on Jan. 10. As India imports around 40% of its oil from Russia, according to trade intelligence firm Kpler, New Delhi could be facing a sudden supply crunch. Supply disruptions to India could be as high as 500,000 barrels per day, Rystad Energy’s senior analyst Viktor Kurilov told CNBC. To mitigate the potential oil shock, Indian importers are looking to import oil from suppliers in the Middle East.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happened-in-the-markets"><a></a>What happened in the markets?</h2>



Indian stocks traded mixed this week. The Nifty 50 index was down 0.03% this week and closed at 23,205.35 points.



The benchmark 10-year&nbsp;Indian government bond yield was flat at 6.78%



On CNBC TV this week, Kumar Rakesh, BNP Paribas’ India analyst, expressed optimism on India’s auto industry. India’s exports of passenger vehicles and motorcycles have been growing at a reasonably strong rate in recent years, especially in the African, Latin American, Middle East and Southeast Asian markets, Rakesh said. Moreover, Indian automakers have been able to enjoy greater profitability because their cost of production domestically is one of the lowest in the world.



Meanwhile, Jose Rasco, HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth Management Americas CIO, acknowledged that India’s market isn’t cheap, but that’s because investors are “paying for quality.” Some features that attract investors to India are its young and diversified economy, a good legal system and increasing productivity in recent years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>What’s happening next week?</h2>



Central bank meetings and Big Tech earnings are in focus the upcoming week. Meanwhile, Denta Water and Infra Solutions, a water management and infrastructure company, lists on the Indian market.



January 24:&nbsp;India HSBC PMI Flash for January,&nbsp;Bank of Japan meeting,&nbsp;Japan inflation rate for December, U.K. S&amp;P PMI flash for January



January 29:&nbsp;U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, Denta Water and Infra Solutions IPO, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla earnings



January 30: U.S. gross domestic product for fourth quarter,&nbsp;European Central Bank meeting,&nbsp;Apple and Intel earnings

World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting starts in Switzerland

CNBC’s Inside India newsletter: A slowing economy hasn’t dimmed India’s allure at Davos

Why Some Of America’s Banks Are At Risk Of Failing | CNBC Marathon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-577846" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108091148-1737632698027-gettyimages-2194666352-AFP_36VC8GV.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This photograph taken in Davos on January 22, 2025 shows the logo of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting. Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



European business leaders have broadly sought to downplay concerns about the prospect of a transatlantic trade war at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.



U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to impose tariffs on goods imported from the European Union, prompting the bloc to warn that it stands ready to respond to additional duties “in a proportionate way.”



Speaking to reporters earlier in the week, the newly inaugurated U.S. president said the EU has been “very, very bad to us. So, they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way … you’re going to get fairness.”



His comments came as the Trump administration also considers imposing an additional 10% tariff on goods imported from China, potentially starting as early as next month.



For business leaders attending the annual WEF meeting in Switzerland, the reaction to Trump’s tariffs threats has been decidedly mixed.



JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday said that the duties Trump is expected to slap on U.S. trading partners can be viewed positively, touting that people should “get over it.”



UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, meanwhile, warned that interest rates were not likely to fall as fast, if U.S. tariffs stoke inflation.



Siemens CEO Roland Busch described the German industrial giant as “tariff-proof,” amid fears of a U.S.-EU trade war.



Asked about concerns over how the tariffs could impact his business, Busch said Siemens was a “global company” that already has a relatively large presence in the U.S.



“We are very much [serving] local to local, same for other regions, for China [and] for Europe,” Busch said.



Siemens chief executive cited the firm’s roughly $10 billion acquisition of U.S. engineering software firm Altair, saying the company has recently been expanding its U.S. footprint.



“On the other side, tariffs normally they increase inflation by definition, so it doesn’t really help. So, I think the idea would be what can we do, what kind of deals to make in order to really reduce the trade tariffs to the minimal level,” Busch told CNBC.



“Free trade and low tariffs, I think, is really a driver for growth,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tariffs-are-not-helping-global-trade"><a></a>‘Tariffs are not helping global trade’</h2>



The chief executive of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas on Thursday said that the idea that tariffs will bring the world to a better place is “at least a new theory to many of us.”



Vestas’ Henrik Andersen also warned that additional duties on imported goods will likely create an inflation risk.



Asked about the prospect of trade tariffs in Europe and the souring regulatory environment for green energy in the U.S., Vestas’s CEO told CNBC: “I think to both, I will say, let sense prevail.”



SAP CEO Christian Klein on Thursday said that U.S. tariffs would not be helpful, underlining the importance for technology companies to make deals with global trade partners.



“I would say tariffs are not helping global trade. And when you look [at] the dependencies between Europe and the U.S., or the United States and China, I don’t believe that this is good,” Klein told CNBC.



SAP’s Klein said he’d been talking to several leaders in Davos about how SAP can support them with their supply chain and finance software.



“Because, you know, everyone is doing business in China. China, of course, also wants to continue to do business in the U.S. So, for technology, it’s now even more important to build these bridges, to build this resilient supply chains,” he added.

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‘Let sense prevail’: European CEOs still hope to avoid a U.S. trade war

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577772" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday called the U.S. stock market inflated and said he felt more cautious than others in the business world because of the risks from deficit spending, inflation and geopolitical upheaval.



“Asset prices are kind of inflated, by any measure. They are in the top 10% or 15%” of historical valuations, Dimon told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.



Dimon said that he was speaking specifically about the American stock market, which is in the midst of a multiyear bull run.



The S&amp;P 500 had back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% in 2023 and 2024, the first time that has happened in over 25 years. Last year, Dimon even called the shares of his own company expensive.



On Wednesday, Dimon also noted that parts of the bond market, like sovereign debt, are “at all-time highs.”



“So yeah, they’re elevated, and you need fairly good outcomes to justify those prices,” Dimon said. “Having pro-growth strategies helps make that happen, but there are negatives out there, and they can tend to surprise you.”



Dimon, 68, is one of the most respected voices in finance after he built JPMorgan into the biggest American bank by many measures, including assets and market valuation.



He has been sounding a note of caution since 2022, when he said a “hurricane” was heading for the U.S. economy. That storm, however, has yet to arrive as the U.S. exceeded expectations in recent years, and the election of Donald Trump in November boosted hopes around what a pro-growth administration will do.



“I do have a little more caution around a bunch of subjects,” Dimon said Wednesday. “What I’m a little cautious about is the deficit spending; it’s a global issue, not just an American issue,” he said. “And the related [question], ‘Will inflation go away?’ I’m not so sure.”



The rising tide of global conflict, including the Ukraine war, tension in the Middle East and growing threats from China has “just got me very concerned how it’s going to affect our world for the next 100 years,” Dimon said.



In the wide-ranging interview, Dimon voiced support for tariffs on imports to the U.S. if they bolster national security, and said that he and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk have smoothed over a previously contentious relationship. Dimon also said he had no intention to run for office in 2028.



Later Wednesday, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon acknowledged that stock market valuations were high, while indicating that they could be justified by enthusiasm over the impact of both artificial intelligence and Trump’s expected moves to relax regulation for American companies.



“It’s hard to dispute the fact that equity multiples are high,” Solomon said. “Markets look forward, and we are coming off of a very, very tough regulatory environment across all industries.”



If Trump administration officials allow more mergers to happen, boosting capital markets activities, it could boost GDP growth by a half percentage point, Solomon said.

108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258–jM8zMyA

Jamie Dimon says the U.S. stock market is ‘kind of inflated’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577769" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rachel Reeves, UK Finance Minister, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025. Gerry Miller | CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The U.K. is “not part of the problem” when it comes to “persistent” trade deficits that President Donald Trump wants to tackle, the country’s finance minister told CNBC Wednesday.



“I do understand that President [Donald] Trump is concerned about countries that are running large and persistent surpluses on the trade balance with the U.S. That’s not the case for the U.K.,” the U.K.’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.



“We are not part of the problem here. So we, the U.K., increased trade with President Trump last time he was in office,” she said, speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.



President Trump is roundly irritated by the U.S.′ trade deficits with many of its partners, but trade with the U.K. has generally been more balanced, see-sawing between surplus and deficit in recent years.



The latest U.K. trade data shows that, in the second quarter of 2024, the U.K. had a trade surplus of £4.5 billion ($5.5 billion) with the U.S. in goods. In the second quarter of 2023, however, the U.K. had a trade in goods deficit with the U.S. of £2.3 billion.



As such, while China, Mexico, Canada and the EU are seen as the top targets for Trump’s trade tariffs, the U.K. might escape relatively unscathed, economists believe. Reeves expressed optimism over the outlook for U.K.-U.S. commerce.



“There is absolutely no reason why our two great nations, with such a strong and special relationship, can’t increase those flows of trade once again,” Reeves commented.



The U.K.’s finance minister is in Davos this week, trying to attract global investment into the British economy.



To achieve economic growth, she said, “we need more investment into the U.K. And so my message to U.S. investors and global investors too is: Britain is open for business, we want your investment.”



The trip comes after Reeves has come under sustained pressure since unveiling the Treasury’s spending and taxation plans last fall.



The package of measures presented in the ‘Autumn Budget’ centered on increasing the tax burden on British businesses and has drawn widespread criticism from industry leaders, who said the move would stifle investment, jobs and growth.



Recent data releases, including lower-than-expected growth data for November and higher-than-expected government borrowing costs in December, have also contributed to ongoing discomfort in the Treasury.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bond-turmoil"><a></a>Bond turmoil</h2>



The U.K. found itself in more hot water at the start of the year, as the interest rate that investors demanded to hold U.K. bonds — known as gilts — rose sharply, reflecting market jitters over the U.K’s economic prospects.



Reeves has held fast to her fiscal plans, saying that growing the U.K. economy is her top priority.



Commenting on recent gilt market turmoil, the minister said on Wednesday the country was “not immune to what happens in global markets.”



“What I would say, though, is that in the Budget that I set out in October, I put out the fiscal rules that this government will operate within. And those fiscal rules, to pay for day-to-day spending through tax receipts, and to get our debt down as a share of our GDP — those fiscal rules are the bedrock of economic and fiscal stability. They’re non-negotiable, and we will continue to meet them,” she said.



Donald Trump’s election last November represented another headache for the center-left Labour government, with a number of ministers, such as Foreign Minister David Lammy, making less-than-flattering comments about Trump in the past.



Unnatural bedfellows when it comes to political ideology, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Reeves and the British establishment are looking to build good relations with the White House, particularly amid the potential threat of universal trade tariffs.



The Labour government has been targeted by Trump’s close ally Elon Musk in recent months, with the tech billionaire criticizing Prime Minister Starmer and Britain’s past investigations into child sexual exploitation.



Asked for her opinion on Musk’s interventions, Reeves said Musk was “entitled to his opinion, but he’s not one of the people who votes in the U.K. general election.”

108090638-1737563597359-1U8A1425

UK ‘not part of the problem’ when it comes to U.S. trade, Britain’s finance minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577584" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194490572-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ursula von der Leyen, president of European Commission, addresses the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from January 20 to 24. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The European Union is “open for business” and keen on global partnerships, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, as the world braces for the trade protectionism of newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump.



“Europe will seek cooperation, not just with longtime likeminded friends, but with any country we share interests with,” Von der Leyen said during her official address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She suggested that, when it comes to challenges like climate change and artificial intelligence, countries must work together even amid a backdrop of “harsh competition.”



“Our message to the world is simple: if there are mutual benefits in sight, we are ready to engage with you. If you want to upgrade your clean tech industries, if you want to upscale your digital infrastructure, Europe is open for business,” Von der Leyen said.



The European Commission chief also noted that she saw growing interest from around the world to engage more with Europe, pointing to partnerships that the bloc has struck with Switzerland, Mexico and South American trade bloc Mercosur.



Europe is looking to boost cooperation with any countries open to collaboration, including partners like the U.S., Von der Leyen said, noting the close integration of the U.S. and EU economies. For example, she noted that many American workers are employed by European companies, and she also pointed to mutual supply chains and trade between the two countries.



“A lot is at stake for both sides,” she said. “Our first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interest and be ready to negotiate. We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles, we will protect our interests and uphold our values because that is the European way.”



Questions have risen over the future of the European Union’s trade relationship with historical ally Washington, after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on goods from the EU. The measures could significantly impact the bloc’s economies.



“While some in Europe may not like this new reality, we are ready to deal with it,” von der Leyen said.



German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meanwhile said that the U.S. remained Germany’s closest ally outside of Europe, adding that he would do everything he could for this to remain the case.



In his address at the World Economic Forum, Scholz on Tuesday said maintaining this relationship would be in the mutual interest of the U.S. and Germany and that close cooperation between the two was “indispensable for peace and security around the globe,” according to a WEF translation to English. He also said the country’s partnership was key for economic development.



Scholz disclosed that he has had “good first talks” with Trump, but noted that “at the same time, it is absolutely clear President Trump and his government will keep the world in suspense” with respect to various policy areas.



“We are able and will be dealing with this, without any excitement and indignation but also without fake cozying up and telling them what they want to hear,” Scholz said.



The European Commission’s Von der Leyen also that “we should strive for mutual benefits” when talking to the world’s second largest economy, China, with whom the bloc has previously been at odds with over trade and tariffs. Among other steps in their long-standing tit-for-tat economic measures, the EU has imposed duties on imported Chinese electric vehicles, while Beijing launched an anti-dumping investigation into brandy from the EU. China has also been on the receiving end of Trump’s trade threats.



“2025 marks 50 years of our union’s diplomatic relations with China. I see it as an opportunity to engage and deepen out relationship with China and where possible eve to expand out trade and investment ties. it is time to pursue a more balanced relationship with China,” Von der Leyen said.

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