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The year started not with a whimper, but with a bang. On 3 January, Donald Trump ordered and successfully carried out a military strike in Venezuela, resulting in the ‘extraction’ of its President, Nicolás Maduro. The action has many layers and, while it’s too early to gauge the full impact on markets, the initial reaction has been muted…

Markets started the week poorly after President Trump threatened eight European Nato allies with new tariffs in his push for the US to take “ownership” of Greenland. On Tuesday, US markets had their worst day since October with the S&P 500 finishing down 2.1% and the Nasdaq falling 2.4%.

They steadied on Wednesday after Trump told the audience at Davos that he “won’t use force” to take Greenland…

Equity markets finished the year on a strong note with most regions delivering double digit returns over the period and hitting all-time highs. This was achieved despite several potential headwinds including Trump’s tariff hikes, growing concerns about technology valuations and recent concerns of a potential Chinese slowdown.
Looking at December, the UK was a strong performer, returning +2.3%, bolstered by strong corporate earnings and the hope for further rate cuts, and finished the quarter as the best performing equity market…

As President Trump steps up his campaign to take “ownership” of Greenland, he took to Truth Social on Saturday to outline new tariffs that he is planning to impose on eight NATO allies, including the UK. Starting from 1 February 2026, Trump said he will put a 10% tariff on “any goods sent to the United States of America” by the eight countries. He threatened to increase the tariff rate to 25% if the US is not allowed to “purchase” Greenland by 1 June 2026…

On Wednesday, the Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that the US will control Venezuelan oil sales “indefinitely”. The next day, President Trump held a roundtable press conference with more than a dozen senior oil executives. While they acknowledged that Venezuela represented an enticing opportunity, the consensus was that significant changes would be needed before they can start investing. Exxon’s Chief Executive, Darren Woods, went as far as to label Venezuela “uninvestable” in its current state…

Early on Saturday morning, the US launched airstrikes on military bases in Caracas before kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his compound. Maduro is now in New York facing an indictment from the Department of Justice accusing him of narco-terrorism, cocaine importation and various weapons charges. Trump has vowed to “run the country” until there is a “proper” transition of power in Venezuela and has also threatened to take similar action against Columbia and Mexico.

At Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Trump claimed US oil giants are ready to rebuild the Venezuelan oil industry…