EU rushes to review Biden-era measures ahead of Trump’s return

Today’s agenda: 2024’s global warming record; BlackRock quits climate group; UK debt market sell-off; Big Read on zoonotic diseases; and hiding savings from life partners

Good morning. We end the week in Brussels, where officials are rushing to analyse hundreds of executive orders and sanctions imposed by US President Joe Biden before Donald Trump’s imminent return.

Why is the EU holding the review? Senior European Commission officials are worried that Trump will seek to overturn his predecessor’s decisions solely because they were made by Biden, without considering the impact on European allies. They have ordered the review to work out which reversals could affect the bloc the most or undermine its own measures, according to people briefed on the initiative.

What’s at stake: The hurry before the president-elect’s inauguration on January 20 underscores the EU’s insecurity over his potential actions when he returns to the White House, following his recent threats. These include refusing to rule out taking Greenland by force and suggesting Canada and the Panama Canal should become part of the US.

The EU’s biggest concern is that Trump might reverse Biden’s multiple executive orders that imposed sanctions on Russia, the officials said. They hope Trump will keep those sanctions in place to use as potential leverage in any possible negotiations with Moscow over a ceasefire in Ukraine. Henry Foy has more details from Brussels.

• Trump’s inauguration: In an unprecedented diplomatic overture, China’s President Xi Jinping will send a high-level envoy to attend the event.

For the latest on Trump’s second term, sign up for our White House Watch newsletter. And here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Los Angeles wildfires: Renewed winds threaten to spread multiple blazes that have already killed at least five people.

• ‘Hush money’ trial: Donald Trump will face sentencing in New York after the US Supreme Court declined to grant him a last-minute reprieve.

• Venezuela: Nicolás Maduro is set to be sworn in for his third presidential term following his disputed win and a day after his government briefly detained an opposition leader.

• TikTok ban: The US Supreme Court hears arguments on a law that would ban the Chinese-owned platform if it is not sold to an American company.

• Reeves in China: The UK chancellor begins an official visit to Beijing.

What will Trump’s return mean for the world? Join FT experts and guests for a subscriber-only webinar on Jan 23. Register here for free.

Five more top stories

1. BlackRock has become the latest financial company to bail out of a big climate change industry group ahead of Donald Trump’s return. Membership in Net Zero Asset Managers had “caused confusion regarding BlackRock’s practices and subjected us to legal inquiries from various public officials”, the money manager told clients in a letter seen by the Financial Times.

2. Exclusive: The hottest start-ups in Silicon Valley are finding ways to remain private for longer, dashing the hopes of investors waiting for blockbuster public listings to cash in their holdings. Recent tech deals have furnished the biggest start-ups with billions of dollars of new capital to continue growing without the need to go public. Read the full story.

3. The sell-off in UK government debt markets could push up mortgage costs for some 700,000 British households when their fixed-rate deals end in 2025. The recent upheaval, driven by worries over persistent inflation and heavy public borrowing, could keep borrowing costs higher for longer.

4. Andersen Consulting, one of the most powerful professional services brands of the 1990s, is set to be resurrected after being dormant since 2000, when the business split from Arthur Andersen and rebranded as Accenture. People familiar with the effort say the historic brand plans to relaunch next month.

5. Elon Musk heaped praise on the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party as she joined him for a discussion about Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump and the existence of aliens. Here’s what the world’s richest man said about Alice Weidel in his latest attempt to influence European politics.

• More Musk: The billionaire is calling on California and Delaware to force OpenAI to auction off a large stake in its business, intensifying a bitter fight with Sam Altman.

• Election giveaway: Musk awarded his final $1mn prize of the 2024 election cycle to a Trump campaign worker, according to election filings.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

The Big Read

There is a high chance that “Disease X” — an as yet unknown pathogen that could cause the next pandemic — will be a zoonosis, or disease that can pass from animals to humans. Covid-19 was very likely to be zoonotic, and just this week, a worsening bird flu outbreak in the US claimed its first human fatality. Can we get better at halting such diseases before the next big pandemic?

We’re also reading . . . 

• Maganomics: Stock investors are brushing aside economists’ gloomy predictions about Donald Trump’s economic policies.

• Jimmy Carter: That America’s most moralistic president received his state funeral days before Trump’s return seemed almost divinely arranged, writes Edward Luce.

• Secret finances: A survey shows that more than a quarter of Britons in a long-term relationship hide savings or investment assets from their partner.

• Italian wineries: The vineyards producing some of the country’s best wines are grappling with their reliance on cheap, illegal migrant labour.

Graphic of the day

The world breached 1.5C of warming last year for the first time, top international agencies said today, as an “extraordinary” spike in the global average temperature sparked fears that climate change was accelerating faster than expected.

Take a break from the news

To mark his 30th anniversary at the FT, columnist Simon Kuper looked back at the newspaper from his first day on the job. What he found was spookily familiar.