It’s ‘Trump Day’ in Davos — here’s what CEOs are saying about him

In other circumstances, Davos would snub a video address by pretty much anyone – it’s all about face time, not FaceTime here.  (The only notable exception in recent history was when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dialed in to Davos from Kyiv via Zoom in May 2022, just months after the Russian invasion of his country.) 

But Davos has become Trump’s Davos. Whether explicitly or implicitly, most leaders here now subscribe to or accept a variation of America First: Business First. For most American business leaders, it means they’re here for business, rather than to publicly discuss their political views, or tout their contribution to high-minded global goals. 

And for European business leaders, it means they’re more concerned with remaining competitive in a Trump and U.S. Tech dominated world, than to lament MAGA.

This is what we heard in conversations here, to help make the point: 

“We’re enterprise tech. We’re in the background. Davos just has a density of key people that make it a great place to come. My primary goal here is to meet with customers.” — Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO, Snowflake.

“We have to stop reacting to other people’s agendas. There is no conundrum. What our American customers want and need is useful to the American agenda, and useful to our business.” — Judith Wiese, Member of the Managing board, Siemens. 

“Trump’s administration means that the destination [the U.S. market] has become more attractive, but the route to reach it more difficult.” — Al Cook, CEO, De Beers.

“In the U.S., Trump signed an executive order to halt all new regulation. In Europe, we are staggering regulations. That is hindering competitiveness.” — Sebastian Steinhauser, Chief Strategy Officer, SAP.

“My read is that Trump wants economic success in the US. We need to show that electrification is also good for them. That is the challenge and I like a challenge.” — Jeff Dodd, CEO, Formula E (the Liberty Global owned all EV race car championship).

— By Peter Vanham.

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TOP NEWS

President Trump threatens Putin: His extraordinary public statement says it all: “I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. … We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL.’” 

Nadella wades into Musk v Altman fight: After Elon Musk said on X that the new $500 billon Stargate AI infrastructure project doesn’t actually have the money, OpenAI’s Sam Altman responded, “wrong, as you surely know.” Then Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on CNBC, “All I know is I’m good for my $80 billion.” Meanwhile, Altman heaped praise on the new president. Context: Musk’s criticism of Stargate — supported by Trump — is the first sign of slippage between the Tesla CEO and the president.

Pimco says no more Fed cuts: Interest rates will likely remain on hold “for the foreseeable future,” according to Dan Ivascyn, the chief investment officer of Pimco ($2 trillion under management).

Sean Hannity gets the first interview: Trump gave a wide-ranging interview to Fox News, his first media sitdown since being sworn in. The NY Post has a summary.

U.S. debt: Behind the scenes, Republicans are worrying about how to pay for Trump’s agenda without ballooning the federal debt. The annual deficit is nearly $2 trillion.

No more “gain of function” research? The president is considering an order that would shut down funding for research that makes viruses more contagious. Scientists remain split on the issue of whether Covid-19 emerged from a lab in Wuhan that conducted GOF research or whether the pandemic had a natural origin.

The markets

• Most major indexes in the U.S. and Europe are either at, or approaching, their all-time highs. The S&P 500 closed at 6,086.37 yesterday. Even the Euro Stoxx 50 hit a new record. This morning, Asia steamed ahead but there were signs of moderation in Europe. Likewise, US futures were heading down by about 0.23% before the opening bell.

From Fortune

Nicolai Tangen says sell U.S. tech stocks
The CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management ($1.8 trillion under management) recommended investors do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. His fund, however, is continuing to buy and hold them. Fortune

Banks watch executive orders closely
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase’s Asset & Wealth Management branch told audiences at Davos on Tuesday that the bank has set up a “war room” to tackle each executive order President Trump signs. Bank of America and Citigroup are also paying special attention to keep up with rapid policy changes. Fortune 

New leader at REI
REI announced on Wednesday that CEO Eric Artz is stepping down as CEO in late March and will be replaced by industry veteran Mary Beth Laughton. The former CEO of Athleta will be tasked with revitalizing the outdoor-gear chain that’s struggling to keep up with competition due to its co-op business model. Fortune 

Who are the best CEOs?
Elon Musk rose to No. 6 on Guild Finance’s 100 best CEOs ranking for being particularly good at securing long-term value for shareholders. Musk is preceded by Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai (5), Benedetto Vigna of Ferrari (4), Nvidia’s Jensen Huang (3), Apple’s Tim Cook (2), and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella (1). Fortune

From the analysts

• Herb Greenberg on stocks: The “Buffett valuation metric” of the largest 50 stocks vs GDP has hit an all-time high. “If ever there was a fear/greed indicator that should scare the living daylights out of you it should be this chart,” he says.
• Goldman Sachs on nervousness in the bond markets: “Global bond yields have been exceptionally volatile in recent weeks. Goldman Sachs’ Jonathan Fine and George Cole explain the drivers behind that volatility and the implications for the economy and investors” in a podcast here.
• Convera on the US dollar: “Tariffs Priced, Dollar Holding Firm: Markets muted to Trump's 10% China tariff threat and EU trade concerns. FX volatility expectations remain high, particularly for CNY, CAD, and MXN,” according to a note from Convera’s George Vessey.
• Apollo on China and the U.S.: “China’s business cycle used to be highly correlated with the US business cycle because of Chinese exports to the US. But the business cycles in China and the US have decoupled” because of tariffs, demographic trends, and the housing market, per Torsten Sløk.

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

There’s a 50% chance of a bear market this year and next, predicts top market sage Rob Arnott by Shawn Tully

Amazon’s ‘flywheel’ created a $2.4 trillion company — Netflix’s blowout earnings show how the streaming company is replicating the tactic by Jason Del Rey

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway takes a sip of the crypto ‘rat poison’ he once said he would never go near by Sydney Lake

Women are officially the economy’s power players—outpacing men in both income and spending growth, BofA report says by Eleanor Pringle

Stripe mistakenly sent some workers an image of a duck as it announced 300 lay offs by Beatrice Nolan

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.