Trump Launches Bold Infrastructure Overhaul: Embracing AI While Revisiting Green Policies

Today’s list: ByteDance’s $12bn AI initiatives; Netflix’s subscriber milestone; Extensive Read on Europe’s corporate leaders; Alex Soros has Lunch with the FT; and concerns regarding Trump’s memecoin

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Good morning. Donald Trump had a hectic first full day back in the Oval Office, as the US president initiated substantial transformations in the nation’s economic framework. Here are the significant changes.

Sustainable infrastructure: Trump’s “Unleash American Energy” executive order has stopped federal funding to manufacturers and infrastructure builders, including allocations made under Biden’s notable Inflation Reduction Act. This encompasses nearly $50bn in Department of Energy loans already approved and an additional $280bn worth of loan applications currently under consideration, according to analysis by the Financial Times. Analysts contend that this indicates many green initiatives may not advance under Trump, such as wind energy and batteries for electric cars.

Artificial intelligence: Trump also announced a substantial new AI infrastructure initiative with OpenAI and SoftBank yesterday. The two organizations stated they aim to invest $100bn in Big Tech infrastructure projects, potentially escalating to as high as $500bn over the forthcoming four years. The collaboration, named Stargate, seeks to enhance capacity for training and operating new AI models. The president mentioned the project would “encompass the establishment of immense data centers”, commencing with a Texas location that the companies indicated was already under construction. Here are further details regarding Stargate.

• Retribution agenda: The president is already fulfilling his promise to target the “deep state” entities that previously opposed him.

• Edward Luce: Very few obstacles exist in the path of the president’s ambition to transform America, writes our US national editor.

• Trump’s resurgence: An economic revival appears improbable, not least because the US economy is far from the catastrophe Trump claims it to be, writes Martin Wolf.

We have additional information on Trump’s “America First” economic agenda below, and FT experts will offer further analysis in an exclusive webinar tomorrow. Don’t miss it. In the meantime, register for our White House Watch newsletter for the most recent updates on the new administration.

Here’s what else we’re monitoring today:

• Davos: The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is ongoing, with UN secretary-general António Guterres expected to address attendees. Join the FT as we provide live updates and commentary from the event.

• Reports: Abbott, easyJet, Halliburton, Johnson & Johnson, JD Wetherspoon, and Procter & Gamble are reporting.

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Five additional major stories

1. Chinese officials currently express hope that it might be feasible to prevent a second trade conflict with the US, after Donald Trump refrained from imposing immediate tariffs and hinted at a more comprehensive potential agreement involving the ownership of TikTok. There exists “cautious optimism”, according to one analyst, but the question remains as to what sort of agreement would be acceptable to both parties. 

• Tax conflict? Trump has threatened to double tax rates for foreign individuals and businesses operating in the US in a measure one analyst described as “the most extreme choice”.

• Trump’s early moves: Here are five insights into the president’s “America First Trade Policy”.

2. Exclusive: ByteDance intends to invest over $12bn in artificial intelligence infrastructure this year, hedging its bets on the advanced technology for new expansion while facing pressure from Washington to divest TikTok in the US. Here’s a detailed overview of the investment.

• AI pharmaceuticals: Isomorphic Labs, Alphabet’s drug discovery venture, will possess an AI-crafted medication in trials by the end of this year, its founder Sir Demis Hassabis informed the FT.

3. Exclusive: Banks are competing to participate in the significant Hong Kong secondary listing of CATL, the world’s top EV battery producer. With financial institutions like JPMorgan and Bank of America vying for principal positions, some Chinese competitors have suggested fees as low as 0.01 percent. One senior banker commented: “In this market, rivals are prepared to do business for nearly nothing.”

4. Netflix gained a record 19 million subscribers in the fourth quarter as audiences rushed to view the latest season of Squid Game and live sports events, including a much-anticipated boxing match featuring Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. The streaming service’s stock jumped over 14 percent in after-hours trading yesterday.

5. UK officials have ousted the chair of the nation’s competition regulator. The government confirmed the resignation of Marcus Bokkerink from the Competition and Markets Authority yesterday evening, following a report by the FT indicating that the business secretary had interfered at the agency. Here’s why Bokkerink is being succeeded.

• More on UK regulators: The Financial Conduct Authority isn’t functioning effectively, asserts author Philip Augar. Is it time to dismantle it?

This Friday, join consumer editor Claer Barrett, writer of the Sort Your Financial

Life Out newsletter series, as she explores how to invest in 2025 alongside other FT specialists. Sign up at no cost.

The Big Read

Continuously sluggish economic advancement and changes in personnel have triggered a re-evaluation of competition regulations within the EU. For the first time in ten years, authorities in Brussels are considering permitting large enterprises within the bloc to expand through mergers, enabling them to reduce expenditures and enhance their competitiveness against global counterparts — even if such unions may elevate costs for consumers. Here’s further insight into the endeavor to establish European corporate leaders.

We’re also perusing . . .

• Alex Soros: In today’s Lunch with the FT, the chair of Open Society Foundations discusses his personal perspective for the influential philanthropic entity founded by his father George with editor Roula Khalaf.

• Judge-shopping: Trump will likely appoint more judges favorable to conservative advocates — but corporate America has only itself to fault, argues Brooke Masters.

• Gaza ceasefire: A great number of Palestinians have returned only to find sand, twisted metal, and fragmented concrete where their homes once stood.

• Luxury sector: Brands are turning to US consumers and anticipating a post-election Trump surge to bolster their recovery after a challenging year.

Chart of the day

The memecoins introduced by President Donald Trump and his spouse shortly prior to his swearing-in are tarnishing the industry’s image and could provoke a backlash among investors, crypto industry leaders have cautioned. After experiencing a spike over the weekend, $TRUMP and $MELANIA have since declined by more than half of their initial worth, leading to allegations of conflicts of interest.

Take a moment from the news . . .

Last year, nearly 19,000 video games were launched via the digital distribution platform Steam, and 2025 is set to present even more. In an era of unparalleled gaming surfeit, FT critic Tom Faber insists it’s time to reconsider how and what we engage with in gaming.