Good morning. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today. Donald Trump said he’s open to the idea of Elon Musk buying TikTok. And Netflix subscriber gains hit a record. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Olaf Scholz will meet with Emmanuel Macron as they try to chart a new course for Europe with Donald Trump threatening to upend transatlantic relations. Despite their many policy differences, the two leaders will try to project strength and will call for a quick response if the US follows through on threats to impose tariffs on European exports.

Speaking of tariffs, Trump said he’s considering a 10% duty on all Chinese imports. The offshore yuan fell. The president is also threatening to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico as soon as next week to pressure the two countries to start renegotiating a regional trade deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. And Trump said he’s likely to impose sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin doesn’t come to the table to negotiate on Ukraine.

And on tech, Trump appeared alongside SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison to announce the three companies are forming a $100 billion venture to fund AI infrastructure in the US. It’s all part of a push to make the nation an AI superpower. Meanwhile he’s still keen on either Elon Musk or Ellison buying TikTok as part of a joint venture with the US government. And the internet’s most-followed and highest-earning content creator, MrBeast, also put his hat in the ring  as part of a group bid to buy the viral video app.

Squid Game. Source: Netflix

Shares of Netflix soared 14% after the US market closed when the company reported its biggest quarterly subscriber gain in history. The streaming giant added 18.9 million customers in the fourth quarter, buoyed by a boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson and the return of Squid Game.

The UK government has ousted the chair of its antitrust watchdog as ministers seek to reinforce the message that they want regulators to do more to facilitate economic growth. Marcus Bokkerink has been replaced by former Amazon executive Doug Gurr on an interim basis.

Deep Dive: Bad Apple

Apple received a pair of analyst downgrades, in the latest sign that soft iPhone sales are becoming an increasing concern for investors, as AI fails to act as a hoped-for growth catalyst.

• Shares fell to their lowest since November in a rocky start to the year. The stock is on track for its biggest one-month decline since December 2022.
• More than $110 billion was wiped out from its market value just yesterday, enough for it to close under Nvidia in size for the first time since November. 

The Big Take

Opinion

A weak Europe would have few defenses against a strong US in the event Trump decides to threaten it, writes Marc Champion. Brussels’ challenge will be to escape the next few years without sustaining lasting damage.

Before You Go

Elon Musk admitted he had help climbing to the top levels of play in the Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2 video games. Asked by a YouTuber if he ever “level-boosted,” Musk said “100%.”

Bloomberg Invest: When it comes to your world and your money, you want answers from leaders who know how to build empires, protect portfolios and create the next big thing. Held in the heart of New York’s Financial District, Bloomberg Invest is an essential gathering that convenes allocators, dealmakers and investors from across the globe. Powered by one of the world’s largest newsrooms and led by Global Finance Correspondent Sonali Basak, join us on March 4-5 as we help you track, dissect and navigate the markets with the industry’s most influential voices. Learn more here.

The Jan. 21 edition of the Morning Briefing Europe failed to identify Lauren Sanchez in a photo caption. We regret the error.

Enjoying Morning Briefing? Check out these newsletters:

• Markets Daily for what’s moving in stocks, bonds, FX and commodities
• Breaking News Alerts for the biggest stories from around the world, delivered to your inbox as they happen
• Balance of Power for the latest political news and analysis from around the globe
• The Readout for essential UK insights on the stories that matter
• The London Rush for getting briefed ahead of your morning calls with the latest UK business headlines, key data and market reaction

Explore all newsletters at Bloomberg.com.