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TikTok announced Thursday it has established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business, allowing the company to avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will serve more than 200 million users and 7.5 million businesses while implementing strict safeguards for data protection, algorithm security and content moderation, the company said.The new structure responds to a law passed under President Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.Trump welcomed and claimed credit for the deal, but also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving it.”I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Thursday. “It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice.””I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal,” he added.ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake in the joint venture — keeping its ownership below the 20 percent threshold stipulated by the law.Three investors — Silver Lake, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based AI investment fund MGX — each hold 15 percent stakes. Oracle’s executive chairman Larry Ellison is a longtime Trump ally.Other investors include Dell Family Office, affiliates of Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, and several other investment firms.The joint venture will retain decision-making authority over trust and safety policies and content moderation for US users, while TikTok’s global entities will manage international product integration and commercial activities including e-commerce and advertising.Under the arrangement, US user data will be stored in Oracle’s secure cloud environment, with cybersecurity audited by third-party experts and adhering to federal standards, TikTok said.The joint venture will be governed by a seven-member, majority-American board including TikTok CEO Shou Chew and executives from major investment firms.TikTok executive Adam Presser was appointed CEO of the new entity, with Will Farrell serving as chief security officer.The 2024 law came as US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, warned that China could use TikTok to mine Americans’ data or exert influence through its algorithm.But Trump, crediting the app for his appeal with young voters, delayed enforcement through successive executive orders, most recently extending the deadline to January 22.The deal largely confirms an outline announced to staff by Chew last month.In September, one-time venture capitalist and Vice President JD Vance said the US entity would be valued at about $14 billion but it would ultimately be up to investors to determine pricing.That month, Trump said a new venture had been agreed with China and would meet the law’s requirements. Trump specifically named Ellison, one of the world’s richest men, as a major player in the arrangement.Ellison has returned to the spotlight through his dealings with Trump, who has brought his old friend into major AI partnerships with OpenAI. Ellison has also financed his son David’s recent takeover of Paramount and bidding war with Netflix for Warner Bros.

Asian markets extended their recovery Friday after Donald Trump withdrew his tariff threats over Greenland, though lingering uncertainty about US policy weighed on the dollar and helped push precious metals to fresh record highs.Investors are also preparing for next week’s Federal Reserve meeting following data that had been broadly in line with forecasts and after prosecutors issued subpoenas against boss Jerome Powell threatening a criminal indictment, raising fears over the bank’s independence.Sentiment has picked up over the past two days after the US president pulled back from his warning to hit several European nations with levies over their opposition to Washington taking over the Danish autonomous territory.In light of the row-back, Asian stocks extended Thursday’s gains, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore leading the gains.That followed a second successive advance on Wall Street.However, Trump’s latest salvo against global allies — and after his ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this month — revived trade war fears and uncertainty about US investment, putting downward pressure on the dollar this week.And analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably.Analysts said the Republican’s willingness to threaten tariffs over any issue had rattled confidence on trading floors, weighing on the dollar and boosting safe haven metals.In early Asian trade, gold rallied to a fresh peak above $4,967 an ounce while silver touched more than $99.With the Greenland crisis over for now, investors turned their attention to the US economy, which grew slightly more than originally estimated in the third quarter thanks to a boost in exports and investment, according to data delayed by last year’s government shutdown.Separate figures showed jobless numbers dipped and inflation settled slightly lower to where it was before the shutdown.The bank is tipped to hold interest rates, having cut them in the previous three meetings.The gathering comes against the backdrop of a deepening row between Trump and Powell, who the president has lambasted for not cutting borrowing costs quickly enough.And the pressure ramped up on the latter this month when the administration issued subpoenas hinting at a possible criminal probe into a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed headquarters. “The bar to a further cut is too high and (Trump appointee) Steve Miran notwithstanding the Federal Open Market Committee are likely to err on the side of a hold, which will inevitably incur the wrath of president Trump,” wrote MCH Market Insights’ Michael Hewson, referring to the Fed’s decision-makers.”The problem for the president is that in being so belligerent towards Powell, he is making it harder for the Fed to even consider cutting rates over concerns that they are succumbing to political influence on their decision-making process.”Fiona Cincotta at City Index added: “Sticky inflation and solid growth provide little incentive for the Fed to cut rates further for now. These data points support the Fed’s wait-and-see stance.”The meeting also comes as Trump considers candidates to replace Powell when his term comes to an end in May. The president told reporters Thursday that “I have somebody that I think will be very good but I’m not going to reveal it”.”It’s someone very respected, very, very well known, and will do, I think, a very good job,” he added.In company news, Japanese giant Nintendo jumped as much as 6.9 percent after gaming data firm Circana said its Switch 2 console led the US hardware market in unit and dollar sales in 2025.The “Switch 2 remains the fastest selling video game hardware platform in tracked history”, Circana’s Mat Piscatella wrote on BlueSky.Next week’s US earnings calendar is packed with results from Apple, Microsoft, Boeing, Tesla, Meta and other corporate giants. There will also be a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision.- Key figures at around 0250 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 53,870.35 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 26,750.74Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,128.01Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1750 from $1.1751 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3498 from $1.3500Dollar/yen: UP at 158.60 yen from 158.39 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.04 pence from 87.05 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $59.73 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $64.45 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,384.01 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,150.05 (close)

Video-sharing platform TikTok has over a billion users worldwide, including more than 170 million in the United States, it says — nearly half the country’s population.Here is a closer look at the app, which on Thursday announced it had established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business:- Born in China -TikTok’s transformation from niche video app to global digital entertainment powerhouse is one of the biggest shifts in the sector since the advent of social media.From friends dancing together to home chefs demonstrating recipes or people sharing political views, TikTok can turn ordinary users into celebrities, revolutionizing the traditional path to stardom.The platform was launched in 2016 by Chinese tech company ByteDance for the local market, where it is called Douyin. The international version, TikTok, was released in 2017.It gained massive momentum after merging with Musical.ly, a lip-synching app, a year later.- ‘For You’ page -The so-called secret sauce in TikTok’s rapid expansion has been its innovative recommendation algorithm.Instead of showing content from accounts that users already follow, the endless scroll of TikTok’s “For You” page is based on viewing habits, engagement patterns and sophisticated content analysis.A video from a complete unknown can reach millions of people if the algorithm determines it engaging enough — a model that the app’s rivals have been keen to follow.TikTok’s focus on short clips also helps keep users hooked.It was initially limited to uploads of 15 seconds, but this was later expanded to up to 10 minutes, and now some users can post videos as long as 60 minutes.- Suspicions -TikTok’s mass appeal has made its rise controversial — mainly over its Chinese ownership and built-in unpredictability.The platform has faced scrutiny worldwide, particularly in the United States, over data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese government, including accusations of spying and propaganda.India banned TikTok along with other Chinese apps in 2020, citing national security concerns.And a European Union watchdog fined TikTok 530 million euros ($620 million) last year for failing to guarantee its user data was shielded from access by Chinese authorities.The social media giant has appealed the fine, insisting it has never received any requests from Chinese authorities for European users’ data.- Sell or be banned -The US Congress passed legislation in 2024 requiring that ByteDance divest control of TikTok in the United States, or be banned.The matter was a major sticking point in US-China trade negotiations, and last month, an internal memo from TikTok’s CEO said an agreement had been reached on a new joint venture in the United States.On Friday, TikTok unveiled its new business structure, which it said would implement strict safeguards for data protection, algorithm security and content moderation.ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake in the joint venture, keeping its ownership below the 20 percent threshold stipulated by the law.Three investors — Silver Lake, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based AI investment fund MGX — each hold 15 percent stakes. Oracle’s executive chairman Larry Ellison is a longtime Trump ally.- Teenage safety fears -In a world first in December, Australia banned under-16s from major social media platforms including TikTok, with the onus on tech firms to kick young users off their services.Other countries have expressed concern about the potential effects of TikTok on young users, including accusations it funnels them into echo chambers and fails to contain illegal, violent or obscene content.Albania banned TikTok for a year in March after a 14-year-old schoolboy was killed in the culmination of a confrontation that started on social media.burs-kaf/abs

Global stocks rallied Thursday, lifting US indices for a second straight day after President Donald Trump dialed back tariff threats on Europe over their opposition to a US takeover of Greenland.Wall Street indices, which jumped more than one percent Wednesday after Trump significantly softened his tone on Greenland, finished solidly higher again Thursday.The broad-based S&P 500 won 0.6 percent.After focusing on Greenland, Iran and other geopolitical hotspots, “it seems like there’s a lot of tailwinds back in the market,” said Tom O’Shea, from Innovator Capital Management. “The economy is in a really good position to move forward.” US data releases Thursday included a modest uptick in US third-quarter growth to 4.4 percent and a stable reading on inflation for November.Next week’s US earnings calendar is packed with results from Apple, Microsoft, Boeing and other corporate giants. There will also be a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision.Markets had been rattled this week by the US president saying he would hammer several nations — including Germany, France, Britain and Denmark — with levies for their pushback against his grab for Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.But relief came Wednesday when Trump backed down on threats to seize the Arctic island by force from ally Denmark and retracted his tariff threat.”That was enough to trigger the so-called TACO trade — ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ — and markets responded with one of their strongest rallies in recent months,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com.- Trade wars ‘biggest concern’ -But analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably, a concern that capped gains.”The Greenland situation may have calmed down, but there are still enough unanswered questions,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. “It’s more about financial markets regaining balance than moving into top gear.”One lesson from this week’s price swings was that “financial markets fear tariffs more than geopolitical risks,” noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “Trade wars are the biggest concern for markets.”Advances in Asian equities earlier were led by tech-heavy markets Tokyo, Taipei and Seoul, with the latter topping 5,000 points for the first time as chip companies enjoyed bumper gains.The surge came after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the infrastructure to develop and power generative AI models will require further “trillions” of dollars in investment.He told delegates that the AI boom “has started the largest infrastructure buildout in human history”.The remarks helped boost South Korean chip leaders Samsung and SK hynix, tech investment giant SoftBank in Japan, and European heavyweights ASML and STMicroelectronics.French video game giant Ubisoft lost more than a third of its value in a single session, with its stock closing more than 39 percent lower, after the “Assassin’s Creed” maker announced it expected to make huge losses this year and needed to restructure drastically.- Key figures at around 2110 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,384.01 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 6,913.35 (close)New York – NASDAQ: UP 0.9 percent at 23,436.02 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,150.05 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 8,148.89 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 24,856.47 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 53,688.89 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,629.96 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,122.58 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1751 from $1.1685 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3500 from $1.3439Dollar/yen: UP at 158.39 yen from 158.30 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.05 pence from 87.00 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.8 percent at $64.06 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.1 percent at $59.36 per barrelburs/jh/rlp/msp

Stocks rallied Thursday after President Donald Trump dialled back threats to hit key European countries with tariffs over their opposition to a US takeover of Greenland.Gains were fuelled also by a surge in tech stocks as the artificial intelligence trade roared back into the spotlight after the head of top AI chipmaker Nvidia said the sector needed “trillions of dollars” more investment.Markets had been rattled this week by the US president saying he would hammer several nations — including Germany, France, Britain and Denmark — with levies for their pushback against his grab for Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.But relief came Wednesday when Trump backed down on threats to seize the North Atlantic island by force from ally Denmark and retracted his tariff threat.”That was enough to trigger the so-called TACO trade — ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ — and markets responded with one of their strongest rallies in recent months,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com.- Trade wars ‘biggest concern’ -But analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably, a concern that capped gains.”The Greenland situation may have calmed down, but there are still enough unanswered questions,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.  “It’s more about financial markets regaining balance than moving into top gear.”One lesson from this week’s price swings was that “financial markets fear tariffs more than geopolitical risks”, noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “Trade wars are the biggest concern for markets.”Advances in Asian equities earlier were led by tech-heavy markets Tokyo, Taipei and Seoul, with the latter topping 5,000 points for the first time as chip companies enjoyed bumper gains.The surge came after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the infrastructure to develop and power generative AI models will require further “trillions” of dollars in investment.He told delegates that the AI boom “has started the largest infrastructure buildout in human history”.The remarks helped boost South Korean chip leaders Samsung and SK hynix, tech investment giant SoftBank in Japan, and European heavyweights ASML and STMicroelectronics.French video game giant Ubisoft lost more than a third of its value in a single session, with its stock closing more than 39 percent lower, after the “Assassin’s Creed” maker announced it expected to make huge losses this year and needed to restructure drastically.- Key figures at around 1640 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 49,517.60New York – S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 6,924.82New York – NASDAQ: UP 1.0 percent at 23,465.06London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,150.05 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 8,148.89 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 24,856.47 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 53,688.89 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,629.96 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,122.58 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1748 from $1.1683 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3496 from $1.3418Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.28 yen from 158.43 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.05 pence from 87.08 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $64.42 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $59.82 per barrelburs/jh/rlp

Stocks rose on Thursday while safe-haven precious metals extended losses after Donald Trump rowed back on his threat to hit key European countries with tariffs over their opposition to a US takeover of Greenland.The gains were also fuelled by a surge in regional tech giants as the artificial intelligence trade roared back into the spotlight after the head of Nvidia said the sector needed “trillions of dollars” more investment.Markets have been whipped by volatility this week after the US president said at the weekend he would hammer several nations — including Germany, France, Britain and Denmark — with levies for their pushback against his grab for the North Atlantic island.The threat sparked a warning of retaliation, with French President Emmanuel Macron raising the possibility of deploying an unused, powerful instrument aimed at deterring economic coercion, fanning fears of a trade war between the economic giants.But traders breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday when the US president told the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that he would not take the Danish autonomous territory by force — as he had hinted — and later said he had retracted his tariff threat.”We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social, without providing details.”Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st,” he said.The news fuelled a rally of more than one percent in US stocks, which had tanked on Tuesday on their return from a long weekend.Asia followed suit, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Taipei and Manila all up. Paris and Frankfurt jumped more than one percent at the open, while London was also sharply higher.Gold and silver, which have hit multiple records this week on a push into safe havens by worried traders, both fell on Wednesday and extended their retreat in Asia.Pepperstone’s Michael Brown wrote that “the threat of 10 percent tariffs on various European nations has been unwound (and) the tail risk of a tit-for-tat tariff war has been eliminated”.”Participants can move on, and finally the hysteria and hyperbole that was doing the rounds over this matter can be put to bed,” he added.Observers said there had been a pick-up in optimism among investors about the “Trump put” in which big losses in stocks would force the president to change course. The advances in Asia were led by tech-heavy markets Tokyo, Taipei and Seoul, with the latter topping 5,000 points for the first time as chip companies enjoyed bumper gains.The surge came after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang told the WEF that the infrastructure to develop and power generative artificial intelligence models will require much more cash.He told delegates that today’s AI boom “has started the largest infrastructure buildout in human history”.”We’re now a few hundred billion dollars into it… there are trillions of dollars of infrastructure that needs to be built out” in fields including energy, cloud computing and electronics.South Korean chip leaders Samsung and SK hynix gained around two percent, while in Japan tech investment giant SoftBank piled on more than 11 percent, with chip firms Advantest five percent higher and Tokyo Electron up more than three percent.Japanese precision tools maker Disco Corporation is trading up 17 percent in Tokyo after stronger-than-expected earnings.TSMC was up more than one percent in Taipei.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 53,688.89 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,629.96 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,122.58 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 10,208.97 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1689 from $1.1683 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3434 from $1.3418Dollar/yen: UP at 158.80 yen from 158.43 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.01 pence from 87.08 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $60.43 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $64.99New York – Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 49,077.23 (close)

South Korea logged its slowest growth in half a decade in 2025, the country’s central bank said Thursday, while exports rose on the back of a boom in artificial intelligence.Asia’s fourth-largest economy has struggled with sluggish demand, a troubled housing market and the fallout of former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration, which plunged the country into political chaos.Last year’s one percent growth was the slowest since 2020, when the economy shrank following the outbreak of Covid-19.Exports were a bright spot, rising by 4.1 percent, the country’s central bank said, while imports were up 3.8 percent.”The growth of exports continued and the growth of private consumption and government consumption expanded,” it said.A decline in construction investment widened, it added, linked to persistent trouble in the real estate market.”The decline in construction widened and the growth of manufacturing slowed,” the central bank said.The economy also contracted in the October–December period, the central bank added.An official said that the slump was expected due to the “base effect” from strong growth in the third quarter.But the weak construction investment also played a role in dragging down overall growth, he said.The central bank had projected in its November report that the economy would grow 1.8 percent this year, citing “a recovery in domestic demand and a robust semiconductor cycle”.South Korea is home to key semiconductor manufacturers — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — whose products have become crucial to sustaining and further expanding infrastructure for the global artificial intelligence market.On the back of robust demand, the benchmark index Kospi broke 5,000 for the first time on Thursday.”Today’s rally is being driven mainly by semiconductor manufacturers, especially Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, amid growing expectations of robust earnings in the sector,” Chung Hae-chang, analyst at Daishin Securities, told AFP.

Stocks mostly steadied Wednesday as markets digested shifting comments from US President Donald Trump that dialed down tensions with Europe over Greenland.After Tuesday’s equity market weakness following Trump’s tariff threats against Europe over Greenland, US stocks opened the day in positive territory after the Republican leader told a World Economic Forum address that he “won’t use force” to take over Greenland.But Trump still insisted on “immediate negotiations,” slamming “ungrateful” Denmark for refusing to give up the territory.Equities moved solidly higher around 1930 GMT Wednesday, after Trump removed the tariff threat, saying he reached a “framework” for a deal over Greenland following a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.Major US indices finished solidly higher, with the S&P 500 up 1.2 percent.The dollar also advanced against the euro and other currencies.”Time will tell if the framework ultimately amounts to any substantive changes, but from traders’ perspective, the proximate cause for concern (an escalating trade or military conflict between the US and Europe) has passed,” said a note from Matt Weller of Forex.com.Markets have tumbled this week after Trump threatened tariffs up to 25 percent on several European countries — including France, Germany, Britain and Denmark — in response to their opposition to his plans to take Greenland.Trump’s threats had sparked warnings of retaliation at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen saying that the 27-nation bloc would be “unflinching” in its response.The controversy has revived talk of the “Sell America” trade after the yield on US Treasury notes moved higher in an echo of the market’s reaction to a Trump policy announcement on tariffs in April 2025 that the White House later partially walked back.”For a while there, it seemed like we were going to be in for sort of a repeat of last April,” said David Grecsek of Aspiriant. “There’s definitely some concern on the part of the markets that some of these foreign policy can unravel confidence in US assets.”In Europe, London and Paris closed marginally higher, while Frankfurt fell.In Asian trading earlier Wednesday, Tokyo’s stock market fell, while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose. Among individual companies, Netflix fell 1.9 percent despite strong earnings, as it gave only muted guidance for future growth.In company news, shares in British luxury fashion label Burberry jumped five percent in London after it posted a rise in sales as demand from China improved.In Paris, food group Danone slumped more than eight percent after one of its infant milk brands was recalled in Singapore.- Key figures at around 2115 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 49,077.23 (close)New York – S&P 500 UP 1.2 percent at 6,875.62 (close)New York – Nasdaq composite UP 1.2 percent at 23,224.82 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,138.09 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,069.17 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,560.98 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 52,774.64 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 26,585.06 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,116.94 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1683 from $1.1725 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3418 from $1.3439Dollar/yen: UP at 158.43  yen from 158.15 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.08 pence from 86.07 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $60.62per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $65.24 per barrel

Stocks mostly steadied Wednesday as US President Donald Trump said in a much-anticipated speech at Davos that he would not use force to take control  of Greenland, though he did demand “immediate negotiations” to take control of the Danish arctic territory.Markets have tumbled this week after Trump threatened tariffs up to 25 percent on several European countries — including France, Germany, Britain and Denmark — in response to their opposition to his plans to take Greenland.But “investors found some relief after President Donald Trump’s speech at Davos was less confrontational than anticipated,” said Patrick Munnelly, strategist at Tickmill Group. “Trump assured that no military action would be taken in the Greenland dispute, calming market nerves.”In Europe, London and Paris closed marginally higher, while Frankfurt fell. In late morning trading in New York, the main Wall Street indexes were up less than one percent, though still well below last week’s levels. Trump’s threats have sparked warnings of retaliation at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen saying that the 27-nation bloc would be “unflinching” in its response.In his Davos speech, Trump touted the strength of the US economy and stressed what he said are the security imperatives for having control of Greenland.In Asian trading earlier Wednesday, Tokyo’s stock market fell, while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose. Netflix was down by more than 4 percent in New York despite strong earnings, as it gave only muted guidance for future growth.In company news, shares in British luxury fashion label Burberry jumped five percent in London after it posted a rise in sales as demand from China improved.In Paris, food group Danone slumped more than eight percent after one of its infant milk brands was recalled in Singapore.The dollar steadied after several downward sessions provoked by Trump’s tariff threats. “The fear narrative ran ahead of reality,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. “The idea of Europe dumping US assets en masse makes for a dramatic storyline, but it collapses under practical constraints. There are not enough deep alternative pools to absorb that kind of flow without severe dislocation.”  – Key figures at around 1645 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 48,864.95 pointsNew York – S&P 500 UP 0.6 percent at 6,837.51 New York – Nasdaq composite UP 0.5 percent at 23,064.68 London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,138.09 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,069.17 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,560.98 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 52,774.64 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 26,585.06 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,116.94 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1707 from $1.1719 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3441 from $1.3433Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.13 yen from 158.21 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.16 pence from 87.23 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $60.46 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $64.95 per barrel

Def Jam, the influential US record label, will launch a division in the “capital of Chinese hip-hop” Chengdu, its parent company Universal Music announced late Tuesday, in a vote of confidence for China’s music scene.The New York-based label worked on the first records of Public Enemy and Beastie Boys, as well as some albums from Jay-Z and Kanye West — all mainstays of American hip-hop.”China is one of the most important and dynamic music markets in the world today, with a new generation of artists shaping culture both locally and globally,” Adam Granite, executive vice president of market development at Universal Music, said in a statement. “Launching Def Jam Recordings China reflects our long-term commitment to this market and our belief that Chinese hip-hop has a powerful role to play in the global evolution of the genre.”Def Jam has also worked with African and European artists through its regional divisions. Chengdu is China’s fourth-largest city and the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, home to the country’s iconic giant pandas.Chengdu is “widely recognized for its vibrant music ecosystem and deep-rooted hip-hop culture,” Universal Music wrote in a press release. Higher Brothers, known for blending Mandarin and the local dialect, is one of the main hip-hop groups originating from the city. Def Jam will work with three acclaimed Chinese rappers — Xie Di, Yitai Wang and Deng Dianguo “DDG” — to help identify and mentor emerging artists.