US President Donald Trump arrives, prior to at a bilateral meeting in Congress Centre on the sideline of the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, January 21, 2026. <\/p>\n
Laurent Gillieron | Via Reuters<\/p>\n
“Good fences make good neighbors,” goes the saying \u2014 one that seems to encapsulate U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat, made on Saturday, of slapping tariffs of 100% on Canada if the country strikes a trade deal with China. <\/p>\n
Canada, for its part, said it has “no intention” of pursuing a free trade agreement with China, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump’s warning comes after he withdrew on Thursday his invitation<\/a> to Carney for Canada to join his “Board of Peace,” a council originally established to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.<\/p>\n Such estrangement between Washington and its northern neighbor, however, was probably not what poet Robert Frost meant when he penned the line, often taken out of context. \u00a0<\/p>\n Frost goes on to write, “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know \/ What I was walling in or walling out, \/ And to whom I was like to give offense.” That context feels relevant as Washington’s relationships with Canada and the European Union grow more strained<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ties between the European Union and India, by contrast, look sturdier. New Delhi plans to slash tariffs on cars imported from the bloc to 40%, from as high as 110%, according to sources cited by Reuters, with duties set to fall to 10% over time.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, inter-party relations in the U.S. are rocky again. (Though, one has to ask: when were they not?) Democratic senators have warned they will not vote for a government funding package<\/a> if it includes provisions for the Department of Homeland Security, following outrage<\/a> over the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n The standoff raises the risk of a government shutdown, a prospect that could affect U.S. Treasury yields<\/a>, the dollar and a flight to safe-haven assets.<\/p>\n Those nerves were already visible in early Monday trading. Gold<\/a> prices broke the $5,000 leve<\/a>l during Asia hours, while U.S. futures and Asian markets fell on the confluence of risks globally.<\/p>\n Investors now face a crowded week. Apple<\/a>, Meta<\/a> and Microsoft<\/a> are set to report earnings and the Federal Reserve concludes its rate-setting meeting on Wednesday. How they turn out will set the mood for markets in the short term.<\/p>\n What you need to know today<\/p>\n Canada has ‘no intention’ of a deal with China: Carney. <\/strong>The Canadian prime minister said Ottawa respects its obligations<\/a> under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement. Trump on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs on Canada<\/a> if it “makes a deal with China.”<\/p>\n Europe-U.S. ties are at their ‘lowest moment’ in NATO history. <\/strong>Former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso\u00a0told CNBC on Monday that the transatlantic relationship is in a “rupture phase,” driven more by interests<\/a> than shared “democratic values.”<\/p>\n India plans to slash tariffs on EU cars. <\/strong>Cars from the European Union with an import price of more than 15,000 euros ($17,800) will face duties of 40%,<\/a> down from as high as 110%, Reuters reported, citing two sources. The tariffs will be lowered to 10% over time.<\/p>\n U.S. stocks were mixed Friday.\u00a0<\/strong>Intel<\/a> tumbled roughly 17%, but Nvidia<\/a> and Advanced Micro Devices<\/a> climbed 1.5% and more than 2%<\/a>, respectively. Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Monday<\/a>. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost more than 1.7% as the country’s prime minister warned against market speculation in the yen<\/a>.<\/p>\n [PRO] A new AI stock trend in China.\u00a0<\/strong>Concerns about an AI chip bubble are pushing local investors away from infrastructure\u00a0plays toward AI applications. Here are the\u00a0stocks to watch within that sector<\/a>.<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n