Good morning. When President Trump arrived in the snow-covered Swiss Alps on Wednesday afternoon, European leaders were panicking that his efforts to acquire Greenland would trigger a trans-Atlantic conflagration. By the time the sun set, Trump had backed down.

The about-face started with an hourlong speech at the World Economic Forum, where the U.S. president said he wouldn’t deploy the military to take control of Greenland. Later, following a meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump called off promised tariffs on European nations, contending that he had “formed the framework of a future deal” with respect to the largest island in the world.

• Details of the deal: The contours of the deal framework, including whether it would allow the U.S. to acquire Greenland, couldn’t immediately be determined. Speaking to reporters, Trump called the framework “really fantastic,” but offered few details. He said he assumes Denmark, which controls Greenland, had been informed about the framework
   
• Threatened tariffs: The pivot was a welcome relief to European leaders, who faced the prospect of economy-rattling tariffs and a standoff with Trump that could have threatened the stability of NATO. Last weekend, Trump said he would hit eight nations with 10% tariffs starting next month if a deal wasn’t reached to acquire Greenland. The tariffs would increase to 25% in June.
   
• The shift came after days of talks with Rutte and European officials: Trump and Rutte on Wednesday “discussed the critical significance of security in the Arctic region” to the U.S. and other NATO members, according to an alliance spokesman. Talks about the proposed framework will focus on how NATO members can work together to ensure Arctic security, the spokesman said. More-specific negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. will aim to ensure “that Russia and China never gain a foothold—economically or militarily—in Greenland,” the spokesman said.

Supreme Court balks at Trump’s push to control the Fed

Supreme Court justices across the ideological spectrum expressed deep unease on Wednesday about President Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve, with several stressing the importance of a central bank insulated from political pressure.

• Five Takeaways From the Lisa Cook Oral Arguments

Companies can be liable for ‘causing’ export violations.

Companies can violate U.S. export controls by inducing or facilitating illegal transfers even when third parties execute the actual transaction, according to a $1.5 million settlement the Bureau of Industry and Security imposed on German engineering firm Exyte Management GmbH, citing its voluntary disclosure and cooperation, Risk Journal reports.

The Jan. 7 settlement demonstrates BIS is taking a strict enforcement approach to transactions involving Chinese entities on the Entity List, particularly in the semiconductor sector.

• A federal judge ordered Cemtrex founder Aron Govil to pay $9.7 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest for misappropriating investor funds, Risk Journal’s Max Fillion reports.
   
• A GOP-led House committee voted to find former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress on Wednesday, drawing significant Democratic support after the Clintons declined to appear for depositions regarding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
   
• When Duke’s star quarterback, Darian Mensah, announced last week that he was entering the transfer portal mere hours before the deadline, it was yet another reminder of how quickly college football was changing. Only now, Duke is attempting to keep him in North Carolina with the kind of lawsuit that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. 
   
• U.S. military forces seized a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela on Tuesday, as its blockade of Venezuelan oil exports aimed at sanctioned ships reportedly caused a 75% drop in the country’s oil shipments, according to U.S. Southern Command and shipping intelligence firm Kpler.

Oxford Analytica’s Laura James discusses the risks arising from a regime weakened even further than it has been in recent years. Also, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business’s Clara Hudson explains the chilling effect on renewable energy projects stemming from the Trump administration’s attempts to halt offshore wind construction. James Rundle hosts.

You can listen to new episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.

U.S. hits Hamas-linked groups with new sanctions.

The U.S. has sanctioned six Gaza-based medical charities it said are linked to Hamas.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions against the groups, which it said are integrated into the military wing of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, and receive money from unwitting overseas donors.

• Inflation in the U.K. rose a little more than expected in December, as Bank of England policymakers mull when next to cut their key interest rate.
   
• Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller expressed confidence that the oilfield-services company could quickly ramp up its business in Venezuela.
   
• European Union lawmakers voted to assess the legality of the EU’s landmark trade agreement with South American countries signed on Saturday.
   
• President Trump hit on a range of economic issues during his address to the World Economic Forum on Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland. Here are some highlights. 

Join us for a deep dive into the challenges that CFOs and other top executives are seeking to overcome, including the impact of tariffs and geopolitical conflicts on corporate finance and private equity. Click here to watch.

• Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said artificial intelligence is already bringing economic benefits across sectors and that the technology needs more investment, brushing aside fears that hefty spending commitments could lead to an AI bubble.
   
• Business leaders’ faith in the productivity-boosting powers of AI is getting a reality check—from their own workforces. How much time workers say the technology saves them on the job is vastly different from what executives report.

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