Squawk Box Europe Express

Davos descent… top business leaders and policy makers begin arriving in Davos, Switzerland, as Oxfam reports that the planet’s roughly 2,000 billionaires own more wealth than 60 per cent of the global population. We will be live at the 50th World Economic Forum all week, starting today at 1600 CET. In energy news, oil prices surge after a military blockade in Libya causes the closure of the c...

Taking its toll…China posts its weakest growth data in almost three decades, suggesting that the trade war with Washington is weighing heavily on the economy despite the 6.1% print for the full-year GDP coming in line with estimates. In the U.S., the Senate hears the charges against President Trump ahead of his impeachment trial as a government watchdog finds that the White House broke the law by...

The biggest ever seen…President Trump hails the signing of Phase 1 of the trade agreement between Washington and Beijing but insists tariffs will remain in place until Phase 2 of the deal is completed. Vice-Premier Liu He says the deal is 'win-win' for both sides as well as on a global level and promises to increase foreign access to Chinese markets. In Russia, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and t...

Sign on the dotted line…Beijing and Washington are on the verge of inking Phase 1 of the trade deal but U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insists that tariffs shall remain in place until China signs the second phase of the agreement. President Trump voices anger at Apple for refusing to work with U.S. authorities, helping to unlock its cell phones involved in criminal investigations. Meanwhil...

Label lost…the offshore yuan surges to its highest level in half a year after the U.S. ceases calling Beijing a currency manipulator, just a day ahead of the expected signing of the Phase 1 trade deal in Washington. Asian shares rise to seven-month peaks on the positive sentiment generated, which has seen Chinese trade data post better-than-expected gains in December. In the U.S., the Nasdaq and S...

Tehran in turmoil…furious anti-government protests spread from the Iranian capital across the country. Demonstrators demand the regime’s leaders step down after they admit Iranian forces mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines plane last week, killing 176 people on board. Asian stocks soar to 19-month highs as Beijing and Washington prepare to sign their ‘phase one’ trade deal,...

An avoidable tragedy…intelligence from the U.S., UK and Canada suggests that the downed Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet was likely hit by an unintentional Iranian missile near Tehran. In Washington, Congress votes to curb President Trump’s ability to take military action against the Islamic Republic in the wake of the killing of General Qasem Soleimani but the resolution will remain n...

Back from the brink? Wall Street and Asian stocks rebound after President Trump claims that Tehran is stepping down from further confrontation with Washington following the killing of General Qasem Soleimani and retaliatory Iranian missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. The news also helps to stabilise oil prices with WTI back in correction territory, as Trump also vows further sanctions on Iran...

Iran hits back… Tehran launches more than a dozen missiles, targeting U.S. military bases in Iraq, in retaliation for the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani. Asian stocks sell off, while the Dow points lower amid the escalation in the U.S.-Iran crisis. Oil and gold initially surge, but cap gains as President Trump plays down the impact of the latest attacks. In an apparently separate in...

Knock-on effect… Wall Street pushes Asian stocks into the green after the Nasdaq posts its biggest intra-day comeback for three months, with Alphabet hitting a new record high. Geo-political fears keep gold prices at a seven-year high as Iranians hold mass funeral processions for Qasem Soleimani throughout the country. NATO says that a full-blown war between the U.S. and Iran is in nobody’s intere...

Upping the ante… Iran withdraws from the 2015 nuclear accord and vows to expel the U.S. from the Middle East following the funeral of military commander General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by an American airstrike last week. The soaring tensions have caused Asian stocks to sink and oil prices to spike as President Trump threatens to hit 52 Iranian sites in case of retaliation, as well as sanct...

Oil prices soar following Pentagon confirmation that a drone strike has killed Iran’s top military commander in Baghdad. President Trump had ordered the strike following the storming of the U.S. embassy complex in the Iraqi capital which had been approved by General Qassim Soleimani. Iran’s foreign minister has slammed the U.S. action as ‘rogue adventurism’. The rising tensions between Washington...

New Year Records…the S&P 500 has closed 2019 with its best annual gain for six years while Netflix was crowned the index’s top-performing stock, increasing value by 4,000% in the past decade. Beijing cuts its reserve requirement for banks once more, boosting Chinese stocks and offering the economy a $115bn fillip. Hong Kong is once again wracked by violence with anti-government protestors hold...

Gone AWOL…ousted Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn flees Japan where he has been awaiting trial for financial misconduct. Ghosn has arrived in Beirut saying that he will ‘no longer be held hostage’ by a rigged Japanese legal system. The U.S. market rally finally falters with stocks notching their worst day in a month but Wall Street can boast its best performance in six years overall. In Asia, Chinese...

Relief rally…Chinese stocks outperform after the S&P 500 posts a fifth consecutive week in the green on the back of optimism surrounding the U.S.-China phase one trade deal. Washington launches airstrikes on Iran-sponsored militias operating in Iraq and Syria following the killing of an American contractor and warns Tehran of further military action. In auto news, Tesla begins deliveries...

A Santa rally: The Dow Jones hits another record high following a stellar performance throughout 2019. Boeing forces out CEO Dennis Muilenberg following the production halt of its problematic 737 Max airliner last week. Board member David Calhoun is now poised to take the reins in January. German car giant BMW announces it is under investigation by the Securities & Exchange Commission over its...

Wall Street looks set to end the decade with a bang. The S&P 500 is up by almost 190% since 2009. Asian stocks see red ahead of Christmas, despite news that China will cut import tariffs on a range of products from January 1st, as both President Trump and Xi Jinping say the Phase One trade deal will be signed soon. In energy news, Berlin and Moscow accuse Washington of interference over U.S. s...

The S&P 500 tops 3,200 for the first time ever as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tells CNBC that ‘phase one’ of the trade deal with Beijing will be inked in early January. There'll be a new boss at Threadneedle Street. The FCA's Andrew Bailey is set to take over from Mark Carney as the Bank of England governor from February. We hear exclusively from the new European Union economy chief...

The U.S. House of Representatives votes along party lines to impeach Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making him the third president in history to be charged with the procedure. We analyse rate decisions from Japan and the UK, where central banks are expected to keep policy unchanged, while Sweden’s Riksbank is likely to finally abandon negative rates. The Queen prepare...

Flashing red… U.S. shipping and logistics giant Fed Ex sees shares slump after it issues its second profit warning in three months, citing ‘significant challenges’ in 2020. President Trump eyes a new trading partner as trade representative Robert Lighthizer says the U.S. wants to slash its trade deficit with Europe and may hike tariffs on EU goods. In currency news, sterling continues it...

News of a U.S.-China phase one trade deal continues to power a global rally as Wall Street hits fresh records and Asia shares scale 17-month highs. Boeing shares slide after the plane maker halts production of its troubled 737 Max model after U.S. regulators dash hopes of the plane returning to the skies this year. In currency news, sterling stumbles against the dollar on reports that th...

Phase One Done… the U.S. and China officially agree on the initial stage of the trade agreement. CNBC’s Hadley Gamble is in Doha where she speaks exclusively to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin who says the deal will be signed early next year. However, the news comes as China reports mixed manufacturing and property data for November, casting doubt over the health of the world’s second-large...

“We pulled it off” … UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hails a Conservative landslide victory – the party’s most significant electoral mandate since 1987. In the markets, sterling jumps by more than two per cent against the dollar on the news. Labour, however, are nursing their wounds after their worst performance at the polls for more than 80 years. Opposition leader Jeremy...

Holding firm… after three cuts this year, the Federal Reserve leaves December’s rate unchanged. Chairman Jerome Powell says he needs to see ‘persistent and significant inflation’ before he'd be prompted to cut again any time soon. The focus shifts across the pond, with all eyes on new ECB president Christine Lagarde’s first policy decision later today. And President Trump is set to meet with his k...

The countdown is on! Investors eagerly await Saudi Aramco's mega IPO with shares set to start trading on the Tadawul, in the world's biggest listing ever. We are live with reaction from Riyadh, as the oil giant makes its debut at 32 riyals a share, valuing the company at $1.7tn. It’s a mixed picture for U.S. and Chinese stocks with the threat of fresh tariffs on Beijing just around the c...