{"id":33524,"date":"2026-01-21T11:11:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/2026\/01\/21\/news-in-review-235\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:06:17","slug":"news-in-review-235","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/2026\/01\/21\/news-in-review-235\/","title":{"rendered":"News in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trump\u2019s Greenland stance fuels NATO tensions and tariff threats, unsettling markets ahead of the World Economic Forum  <\/td>World Bank forecasts modest yet resilient global growth, while warning the 2020s may be the weakest decade since 1960s   <\/td>UK economic data shows slight momentum, with housing sentiment improving as borrowing cost expectations shape 2026 outlook  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u201cAny decision about the future of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Keir Starmer spoke from Downing Street on Monday morning in response to President Trump\u2019s intention to take control of Greenland because of its strategic Arctic position and mineral wealth. The Prime Minister said Trump was <\/strong>\u201ccompletely wrong\u201d<\/em><\/strong> to threaten tariffs against countries opposing the move, urging for the issue to be resolved through calm discussions between allies, not trade wars or military action.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Sir Keir said, \u201cAny decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental.\u201d<\/em> On tariffs, he added, \u201cIt is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance, nor is it helpful to frame efforts to strengthen Greenland\u2019s security as a justification for economic pressure.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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His comments came amid fears the UK and EU could be pushed into recession by potential US tariffs of 10% or 25%. EU leaders, led by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, warned they would impose counter-tariffs if this happened. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU\u2019s response would be \u201cunflinching, united and proportional,\u201d <\/em>while Greenland\u2019s Prime Minister urged citizens to prepare for the possibility of an invasion. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Concerns that the dispute could fracture the NATO alliance are intensifying. Even US Republican representatives have warned the President about the risks of his approach. The situation comes as the World Economic Forum (WEF) gets underway in Davos, where global finance leaders are congregating to embrace this year\u2019s theme \u2018A Spirit of Dialogue\u2019. Trump\u2019s keynote speech on 21 January will be closely watched.  B\u00f8rge Brende, WEF Chief Executive, said the annual meeting of global business leaders will take place \u201cagainst the most complex geopolitical backdrop since 1945.\u201d<\/em>  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Meanwhile, markets have become unsettled. The gold price is hovering around record highs as investors flood to the \u2018safe haven\u2019 asset. As earnings season kicks off, investors are facing a potentially volatile period as uncertainty hits the markets and the possibility of a US-EU trade war intensifies. US equities have posted significant losses, as the \u2018Sell America\u2019 trade resurfaces and the dollar is struggling. The VIX index, widely known as the \u2018Fear Index\u2019, has reached its highest level since November, currently around 20.93. The higher the VIX, the greater the level of uncertainty in the market, with levels above 30 indicating tremendous uncertainty, levels above 20 regarded as \u2018high\u2019 and below 12 as \u2018low\u2019 volatility. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A Japan-led global bond sell-off has also commenced, as concerns over the country\u2019s finances takes hold.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Predictions for the global economy<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The World Bank\u2019s most recent Global Economics Prospects report suggests that the global economy shows signs of resilience, despite ongoing trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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According to the research, global growth is expected to be relatively steady over the coming two years. The World Bank now anticipates growth of 2.6% in 2026 and 2.7% in 2027 \u2013 an improvement from June 2025\u2019s forecasts. In developing economies, growth is expected to slow to 4% in 2026, then rise to 4.1% in 2027 as financial conditions strengthen.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Despite some areas of resilience, the 2020s are likely to be the weakest decade for global growth since the 1960s. Indermit Gill at the World Bank commented, \u201cOver the coming years, the world economy is set to grow slower than it did in the troubled 1990s \u2013 while carrying record levels of public and private debt. To avert stagnation and joblessness, governments in emerging and advanced economies must aggressively liberalise private investment and trade, rein in public consumption, and invest in new technologies and education.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Ahead of President Trump\u2019s tariffs threat, in its latest world economic outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that trade tensions and a reversal in the artificial intelligence (AI) boom are among the main risks to global economic growth, describing the global economy as \u2018steady\u2019<\/em>, with growth expected to remain \u2018resilient\u2019<\/em> this year. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Uptick in UK growth<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicates UK GDP grew by 0.1% in the three months to November, marking a slight improvement on the three months to October, which saw no growth. On a monthly basis, the economy is estimated to have expanded by 0.3% in November. This was stronger than economists had expected, with forecasts predicting monthly growth of 0.1%.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Here to help<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Financial advice is key, so please do not hesitate to get in contact with any questions or concerns you may have. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. The past is not a guide to future performance and past performance may not necessarily be repeated.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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All details are correct at time of writing (21 January 2026)<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trump\u2019s Greenland stance fuels NATO tensions and tariff threats, unsettling markets ahead of the World Economic Forum   World Bank forecasts modest yet resilient global growth, while warning the 2020s may be the weakest decade since 1960s    UK economic data shows slight momentum, with housing sentiment improving as borrowing cost expectations shape 2026 outlook   \u201cAny decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":33525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,112],"tags":[],"hd_content_source":[116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33524"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33526,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33524\/revisions\/33526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33524"},{"taxonomy":"hd_content_source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.contentdeployment.co.uk\/tomd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hd_content_source?post=33524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}