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Pension industry leaders and investment chiefs from Finland, Sweden and Denmark have told Reuters that they are increasingly wary of the risks of holding US assets amid US foreign policy uncertainty and White House debt levels that they view as a threat to the dollar, US Treasuries and stocks. "All of this turmoil is raising some questions about how exposed ⁠you should be to the US . . . that is ⁠what our members are professionally assessing," ​said Tom Vile Jensen, deputy director of trade body Insurance and Pensions Denmark.

 

Reuters

The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) has warned that euro area lenders could find it hard to finance themselves on the market in foreign currencies including US dollars if high geopolitical uncertainty persists. "Looking ahead, a sustained period of uncertainty may test the limits of absorption of bank market wholesale funding, especially for instruments denominated in foreign currencies," the ESRB said.

 

Reuters

The US has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO). All US funding to the WHO has been terminated and US participation in WHO-sponsored leadership bodies and working groups has ended. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it took the decision due to the WHO's alleged "mishandling" of the pandemic, an inability to reform, and political influence from member states. The US leaves behind unpaid debt of roughly $260m. There’s no requirement in statute to settle the debt before exiting the agency, a senior HHS official said. “It’s a very messy divorce,” observed Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO collaborating center on national and global health law at Georgetown University.

 

Al Jazeera

Bloomberg

Reuters

BBC News

Analysis by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) shows that private sector activity in the UK declined in the three months to January, with all sub-sectors reporting a fall. The CBI's January survey also indicates a "disappointing outlook" for the next three months, predicting downturns across services, retail, and manufacturing. CBI deputy chief economist Alpesh Paleja said the economy "has not experienced a strong start to 2026," and warned of "persistently weak growth expectations." He added that while "there are tentative signs of stabilisation and resilience in some specific areas . . . . businesses remain cautious, households are downtrading and confidence is still fragile."

 

Daily Mail

Eurozone consumer confidence improved to -12.4 in January, up from -13.2 in December and ahead of forecasts, according to the European Commission.

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Amazon is reportedly preparing to cut thousands of additional corporate jobs this week, targeting roles in Web Services, retail, Prime Video, and HR, as part of a plan to reduce its white-collar workforce by 30,000 - roughly 10% of its corporate staff. Following 14,000 job cuts in October, this second round could begin as soon as Tuesday. Chief executive Andy Jassy has attributed the layoffs to cultural inefficiencies rather than financial or AI-related pressures, despite Amazon's increased use of artificial intelligence to streamline operations. The move marks the largest corporate layoff in the company’s history.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

The Seattle Times

French lender BNP Paribas plans ‌to cut around 1,200 jobs at its asset management ​unit by the end of 2027. About ‌600 positions in France will be affected, said a union source, who added that about ​230 ‌new local jobs would also ‍be ⁠created as part of the plan to cut costs following the bank's €5.1bn acquisition of AXA Investment Managers. The merger created Europe’s third-largest asset manager.

 

U.S. News & World Report

Tesla has said it has no intention of cutting jobs or production at its gigafactory near Berlin, countering a report suggesting a significant workforce reduction. The company maintained that "there has been no significant reduction in the number of permanent staff" and that the situation at the Gruenheide plant remains stable. Tesla described any fluctuations in staff numbers as "completely normal" during the factory's ramp-up phase.

 

Reuters

UK water regulator Ofwat plans to offer extra money to some staff, including engineers and data experts, as it struggles to fill roles after its workforce shrank by a fifth, partly as a result of government plans to abolish it and establish a new watchdog. The new regulator will take two years to set up, and in the meantime Ofwat must have a workforce that is sufficient to manage projects as well as the transition, Chief Executive Officer Chris Walters told lawmakers in parliament. 

 

Bloomberg

German prosecutors are investigating suspected embezzlement and fraud at precious metals refiner and industrial conglomerate Heraeus. The company has set aside nearly €458m ($537m) to cover potential risks. “Throughout this process, we have acted transparently, proactively notifying the relevant authorities. We are fully cooperating with them, and welcome further clarification of the matter,” a Heraeus spokesperson said. “Personnel consequences have been enacted, and further measures have been initiated to prevent recurrence.”

 

Financial Times

Mining.com

Financial Times

Carmakers have refused to back an effort by the EU’s industry commissioner to rally support from leading industries on its plan to prioritise “made in Europe” products, the Financial Times reports.

 

Financial Times

Ledger has tapped bankers at Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays for an initial public offering in the US that could value the French cryptocurrency company at more than $4bn.

 

Financial Times

EY global vice chair Julie Teigland has told Reuters that firms are learning that artificial intelligence is not plug-and-play, and ROI requires organizational redesign and training, not just the deployment of tools. She cited work by EY indicating that intensive training can be linked to productivity improvements, observing that around 81 hours of training per employee could translate into roughly 14% weekly productivity gains, in concert with role redesign. AI's labor impact will be "multi-generational," changing entry-level positions and routine white-collar tasks, Teigland said, with employees needing to shift from "doing the task to supervising the task," and becoming "above the loop."

 

Reuters

South Korea has introduced what it says is the world's first comprehensive set of laws regulating artificial intelligence. Under the terms of the AI Basic Act, companies must ensure there is human oversight in so-called "high-impact" AI such as that involving nuclear safety, the production of drinking water, transport, healthcare and some financial uses. Meanwhile, companies must give users prior notice about products or services that use high-impact or generative AI, and provide clear labelling when AI-generated output is difficult to distinguish from reality. Startups, however, complain that the laws' language is vague, and compliance will be burdensome.

 

The Japan Times Online