Wall Street stocks have risen after Donald Trump said he would not be imposing tariffs on countries that oppose his intention to take over Greenland.

The S&P 500 was up by as much as 1.5pc to 6,902 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.6pc higher to 49,222 points and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7pc to 23,344 points.

The US president wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday night: “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.

“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.

“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”

After steep declines on Tuesday, US markets rebounded earlier in the session following Trump’s Davos speech where he appeared to remove the threat of military action to seize the territory.

Mr Trump said: “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that.”

Threats to impose 10pc tariffs on several countries including the UK which opposed the President’s claim to Greenland had left US stocks down.

The S&P 500 suffered its worst day since last October on Tuesday, closing down 2.1pc.

Investors have been spooked by the threat of a new global trade war, which has jolted global markets.

In Europe, stocks also bounced following Mr Trump’s comments earlier today.

The FTSE 100 closed 0.1pc higher to 10,138 after being down 0.3pc prior to Trump’s speech. France’s CAC index was up by a similar amount.

The uncertainty created by Trump led to gold reaching a new record high of $4,888 an ounce shortly after noon in London.

Daniel Ghali, an analyst at TD Securities, said: “Gold’s rally is about trust. For now, trust has bent, but hasn’t broken. If it breaks, momentum will persist for longer.”

09:28pm

That’s all we have for today. Thanks for joining us.

The day started with the news that UK inflation jumped for the first time in five months, but attention quickly turned to Davos, where Donald Trump arrived to give his speech.

The US president has since announced that he will not be imposing tariffs from 1 February on countries that don’t support his hopes to take over control of Greenland and that a framework has been formed for a future deal.

Wall Street responded positively, with all three major US stock indexes closing higher.

09:20pm

US stocks closed higher after Donald Trump said he would not be imposing tariffs on countries against his plan to gain control of Greenland following his meeting with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO.

The benchmark S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite all rose by about 1.2pc at the closing bell, reversing losses experienced earlier in the trading day.

08:45pm

Donald Trump has said that he thinks credit card companies need to “give people a break”.

Justifying his hope to cap credit card interest rates at 10pc for one year, Mr Trump said: “people are paying, they can’t make it, they can’t pay 28pc.”

Credit card companies “make a lot of money,” he said. “They gotta give people a break.”

The average credit card interest rate in the US is between 20 and 25pc.

08:35pm

Donald Trump has indicated that he is not bothered if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stays within the central bank.

US prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Mr Powell earlier this month over the Fed’s $2.5bn (£1.9bn) renovation of its headquarters.

“In this world, we live with the cards you dealt,” he said when asked how he would feel about Mr Powell possibly remaining in the Fed.

“If that happens, his life won’t be very, very happy, I don’t think, by doing it,” Mr Trump said. “I think he wants to get out. He has not done a good job.”

The US president said: “He’s either incompetent or he’s crooked I guess.”

He added that if Mr Powell “stays, he stays”.

08:28pm

Donald Trump has said the next chair of the Federal Reserve has effectively been decided by him.

“I’d say we’re down to three, but we’re down to two,” Mr Trump told CNBC. “And I probably can tell you, we’re down to maybe one, in my mind.”

08:21pm

Donald Trump said he decided to remove tariffs on countries that oppose his intention to control Greenland because of the framework that was formed during his meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.

In response to being asked by CNBC’s Joe Kernen why the US president backtracked on levies, he said: “We took that [tariffs] off because it looks like we have pretty much a concept of a deal.”

When asked about the details of the deal, Mr Trump said: “It’s a little bit complex but we’ll explain it down the line, but the secretary general of NATO and I, and some other people, were talking and it’s the kind of a deal I wanted to be able to make.”

07:46pm

Wall street has rallied after Donald Trump announced that he was no longer imposing tariffs on countries opposed to his take over of Greenland.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6pc to 49,236 points and 23,326 points, respectively.

The S&P 500 was up 1.2 pc to 6,876 points.

07:39pm

Donald Trump has said he will not be imposing tariffs on countries that oppose his intention to gain control of Greenland, which were due to go into effect on 1 February.

The US president wrote in a post on Truth Social: “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.

“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations.

“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”

07:33pm

Wall Street has climbed as investors await Donald Trump’s latest interview in Davos.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.3pc, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged 1.1pc higher and the S&P 500 rose 0.4pc.

06:12pm

Peter Kyle, the Business and Trade Secretary, has said it would be “crazy” for the UK to not engage with the prospect of the EU’s customs union.

“We need to be having these conversations as a country about where is the best anchor, what is the best opportunity for Britain’s economy post-Brexit,” Mr Kyle said in an interview with CNBC in Davos. “It would be crazy not to engage with the prospect of a customs union.”

The comments contradict Rachel Reeves’s insistence on Tuesday that the UK could not “go back in time” and that rejoining the customs union would negatively affect trade deals.

However, Mr Kyle said a customs union would take a long time to boost growth. He said: “A customs union is something we need to engage with but let’s be clear, it took Turkey 20 years to join the customs union. It took four years for us to leave the customs union.”

05:24pm

Donald Trump is hosting business leaders in a sequestered mezzanine inside the main conference centre.

The Telegraph spotted arriving corporate bosses including JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Anglo American’s Duncan Wanblad, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Palantir’s Alex Karp, Porsche chief Oliver Blume and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

This will be the first of many pit stops for CEOs on the cocktail circuit tonight. Among the hot-ticket parties are bashes hosted by JPMorgan, the Wall Street Journal and Semafor. The revelry extends beyond the trans-Atlantic circuit, with the governments of Indonesia and Japan both putting on their big bashes tonight.

04:54pm

The FTSE 100 has risen slightly after Donald Trump vowed to not use military action to gain control of Greenland.

London’s main stock index climbed just 0.1pc at the close to 10,141 points, recovering from losses experienced earlier in the session when investors awaited the US president’s address at the World Economic Forum.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up about 0.6pc to 23,101 points.

04:41pm

Despite markets shrugging off Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs, the risks of a global trade war starting appear to have escalated, according to AJ Bell.

Danni Hewson, of AJ Bell, wrote in a note: “Markets are in partial recovery mode after Donald Trump announced that he won’t use force to take Greenland.

“The Greenland issue isn’t going to go away though. Donald Trump may not be planning to use military might to get what he wants, but he’s more than happy to inflict economic pain as a means to an end.

“There has been no backtracking as yet on the US tariffs which are set to hit the UK and other European nations from the beginning of February. Of course, we’ve become familiar with tariffs being used as a negotiating tool by the Trump administration, and this is perhaps no different, except it’s hard to see how European leaders can give the US president what he wants on this occasion.

“The risks of an all-out trade war look to be escalating, which markets seem to be shrugging off. The global stock market is up around 20% since the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were announced last April, and yet today the European parliament postponed a vote to ratify its trade deal with the US indefinitely, which puts trade tensions back in the mix.”

04:35pm

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So much for a charm offensive. Nigel Farage has been busy meeting big businesses on the ski slopes of Davos today -- but the Reform leader has a blunt message in store for them.

Asked whether his past attacks on the World Economic Forum were rude, Mr Farage said the gathering was for people “who don’t give a damn about the nation state, who don’t give a damn about borders, who have encouraged us for decades to open up to unlimited immigration, regardless of cultural consequences.”

He has previously described the World Economic Forum as a “jaunt” for “globalists” and said Britain should reject its influence.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Farage said: “Just because I’ve turned up in Davos doesn’t mean I’ve gone native.

“Is it rude of me to come here and meet those firms and say to them, ‘My country has been craven to you for decades, that is about to end?’

“My message to those big businesses is, yes, we’ll work with you. Yes, we’ll cooperate with you. We will not be dictated to by you. We will not be told what policies we must have, and we will bring back something that is called the national interest.

“Is it rude to come and speak to people face to face like that? Well, I mean, I can be quite jarring if I want to.”

04:30pm

Analysts at Jefferies have warned of the possibility of an unexpected ruling form the Supreme Court on tariffs for investors.

“A surprise ‘tariffs upheld’ ruling would likely jolt markets, since most have priced in relief,” the strategists wrote in a note.

They said that they “share the consensus view that the Supreme Court will invalidate the IEEPA tariffs,” but highlight “oral-argument signals are imperfect.”

The analysts added: “If the Court upholds IEEPA tariffs, it likely green‑lights continued use of tariffs as policy leverage.”

03:59pm

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The world would be safer if Greenland were in American hands, Nigel Farage has said.

But Reform’s leader urged Donald Trump to respect the democratic will of Greenlanders, invoking the spirit of Brexit and American independence.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Farage said: “On Greenland, I have no doubt  that the world would be a better, more secure place if a strong America was in Greenland because of the geopolitics of the high north, because of the retreating ice caps and because of the continued expansionism of Russian icebreakers of Chinese investment.

“However, if you believe in Brexit and if you believe in celebrating America’s 250th birthday, if you believe in the nation state and not globalist structures, believe in sovereignty and the principle of national self-determination… you must respect the rights and views of the Greenlanders, because that is what national self-determination is.”

03:54pm

Analysts surveyed by the London Bullion Market Association said gold could reach a price point of $6,000 an ounce this year.

Earlier today, bullion rose 2.7pc to $4,888 per ounce, achieving a new record, as the US president landed in Switzerland ahead of a speech in front of world leaders in Davos.

Of the 28 analysts, 22 expected the yellow metal to hit highs of over $5,000 in 2026, with five predicting it to surpass the $6,000 threshold and one foreseeing a jump up to $7,000.

The forecasts are driven by expectations of lower interest rates in the US, cnetral banks diversifying away from the dollar and geopolitical tension.

03:28pm

Global stock markets rose after Donald Trump said he would not resort to military action as he seeks to take control of Greenland.

The FTSE 100 was last up 0.3pc, having been down as much as 0.3pc before the US president’s address to world leaders in Davos.

The Cac 40 in Paris was up 0.1pc and the Ibex 35 in Madrid rose 0.2pc, while the Dax in Franfurt cut some of its losses, leaving it down 0.5pc.

On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.8pc, with S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by up 0.7pc.

03:21pm

Donald Trump attracted the great and good for his speech at Davos.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang and European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde were seated together for the address.

03:09pm

Jamie Dimon has lambasted Europe’s immigration policy, warning that many people headed to the Continent did not want to work.

The chief executive of JP Morgan hit out at the former Biden administration’s loose border controls which saw millions of illegal immigrants cross onto US soil.

He said the policy had “really damaged our country” but added that there should be a path to citizenship for those who contribute to the US economy.

However, Mr Dimon said the situation was “even worse” in Europe because many migrants there did not want to work or integrate.

Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Dimon said he was “still angry” at the Biden administration’s policy. “I think it’s really damaged our country.”

He praised Donald Trump’s actions to clamp down on illegal immigration but said some action by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been too heavy-handed.

Mr Dimon said: “Trump comes in. Boom, closed. God bless them.”

He added that controlling borders was vital for economic success.

“Countries have to control their borders, or they will cause these problems. You have that all over Europe, and it’s even worse there, because in America, most people coming to America want to be American. They come to work. They can’t wait to become a citizen the United States of America, that’s not true for most of European immigration.”

He also said cutting interest rates on credit cards would be an “economic disaster” because it would lead to millions of Americans being denied credit.

He also said it was important for the Nato alliance to remain strong.

03:01pm

The boss of Wall Street’s biggest bank warned of “economic disaster” for the US if Donald Trump follows through with plans to cap interest rates on credit cards.

Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, criticised the US president’s proposals to limit rates to 10pc for a year.

Mr Trump originally set a deadline of Tuesday for the plans to go into effect as part of his efforts to reduce the cost of living for Americans, but the date passed without action.

Banks have argued that such a plan would reduce the availability of credit for the poorest people, forcing them into the hands of loan sharks or pawnbrokers.

Mr Dimon told the World Economic Forum in Davos: “Our business, you know, we would survive it by the way.

“In the worst case, you’d have to have a drastic reduction of the credit-card business.”

02:51pm

The price of oil was little changed as Donald Trump calmed markets with his comments on Greenland in Davos.

Brent crude was flat at just under $65 a barrel as the US president said he would not take the Danish territory by force.

Mr Trump has just wrapped up his speech at the World Economic Forum and is taking a seat for a fireside chat.

02:41pm

Donald Trump said the US is “keeping the whole world afloat” and should therefore be paying the lowest interest rates on its government debt.

He said countries make “a fortune” off the back of America, adding Switzerland was making “$40bn off of us”.

The US president has said several times he wants lower interest rates to boost the US economy.

The federal debt burden has soared to more than 120pc of GDP, compared to less than 100pc for the UK.

02:31pm

Stock markets rose in Britain, France and the US as Donald Trump said he would not take Greenland by force.

The FTSE 100 turned higher on the day by 0.2pc while the Cac 40 in France was up 0.1pc.

Wall Street indexes opened higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3pc, the S&P 500 gaining 0.4pc and the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.2pc.

The US president said: “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force were we would be unstoppable, but I won’t do that.”

02:24pm

Donald Trump appeared to issue a threat to Europe as said he was asking for control of Greenland “for world protection”.

He said in Davos: “You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember it.”

02:22pm

Donald Trump appears to be continually referring to Greenland as Iceland.

“The stock market took a dip yesterday because of Iceland,” he said, referring to the sell-off on Wall Street on Tuesday as he ramped up his trade war.

02:18pm

Donald Trump said Greenland had to be transferred to the US otherwise it would not protect the island.

“Who the hell wants to defend a licence agreement?” he asked as he said the US “won’t use force” to take control of the territory.

He added that the US would build a “golden dome” atop the country.

“Now what I’m asking for is a piece of ice, cold and poorly located that can play a vital role in world peace and world protection. It’s a very small ask,” he told delegates in Davos.

02:11pm

The pound edged lower against the dollar and the FTSE 100 remained slightly down on the day as Donald Trump addressed Davos.

Sterling was lower by 0.1pc at $1.343 while the UK’s flagship stock index was down 0.1pc as the US president said he wanted “immediate talks” to acquire Greenland.

Government borrowing costs were steady on global bond markets.

02:08pm

The US president said he wants “immediate talks” on the US acquiring Greenland.

Donald Trump said such a deal would not be a threat to Nato but would enhance the alliance.

02:05pm

Donald Trump said only the US was able to secure Greenland, which he warned was being “undefended in a key strategic location” between the US, Russia and China.

The US president said there was “so much rare earth” in the Danish territory but added America “needed it for national security”.

02:01pm

Donald Trump criticised the Government for not letting “anybody drill” in the North Sea, which he said has “one of the greatest reserves anywhere in the world”.

The US president said Europe’s “radical left tried to impose on America” climate policies which he said had left Germany produces 25pc less electricity than it did in 2017.

He said the UK produces just a third energy from total resources than it did since 1990, even though it is “sitting on top of the North Sea”.

“That’s one reason why their energy has reached catastrophically low levels but with high prices,” he said.

He dismissed suggestions that the North Sea was “depleted” and criticised the Government for taking 92pc of oil company revenues from activity there.

01:54pm

Donald Trump praised America’s push back towards fossil fuels since his return to the White House.

He said US oil production was up by 730,000 barrels a day while natural gas production was at a record high, suggesting petrol prices would fall to less than $2 per galloon “soon”.

He said the US was “helping Venezuela” after his capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro.

He added the US is “going heavy” into nuclear energy, adding it could be “had a very good prices and very safe”.

01:46pm

Donald Trump said he “loves Europe” but it is “not heading in the right direction”.

He said certain places in the Continent were “not recognisable anymore” as he criticised immigration policies.

01:43pm

Donald Trump said US inflation has been defeated, while stock markets on Wall Street have hit 52 new records since his return to the White House.

The US president said the “radical left Democrats” had left the US “a dead country” but it is now the “hottest country in the world”.

01:41pm

Donald Trump has begun his speech in Davos saying that he was addressing friends and “a few enemies”.

He said he had “phenomenal news from America” saying the economy is “booming” after his first year back in the White House.

01:36pm

US trade ‍representative Jamieson Greer said that ⁠he did not know whether a full trade deal with China would be made.

“I don’t know if we’re going to get ‍to ‌a comprehensive trade deal with China,” he told Fox Business Network.

“What we’re really focused ‍on is managing that relationship, and it may take a series of agreements ‍or arrangements with China about what we should and ⁠shouldn’t be selling to ‌each ‍other.”

Mr Greer also said ⁠the US continues ​to monitor trade ‌from China ⁠and sales ‍of agricultural goods are going in the right direction.

01:16pm

With less than half an hour until Donald Trump is due to start his 45-minute speech in Davos, the town has reached fever pitch.

In the Congress Centre, hundreds of delegates are packing the lobby outside the main auditorium, with journalists and dignitaries rubbing shoulders in an undignified crush.

Outside at nearby USA House, a small but very vocal crowd of Kurdish protesters has gathered and is in full voice.

They are joined by a man holding a placard detailing his objections to Trump’s designs on Greenland. Another is wearing a sandwich board making clear his opposition to puberty blockers for teens.

Even if Trump manages to avoid this scrum, the disgruntled of Davos have found another way to send him a message. Atop a nearby mountain, someone has carved “NO KING” into the snow. This Alpine graffiti is so large that the president won’t be able to miss it as his helicopter comes in to land.

01:06pm

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Justin Trudeau, the former Canadian prime minister, may no longer be in office but he is still drawing crowds of admirers at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Today, fans have been queuing up to take their picture with him - mostly women, it has to be said.

He was also pictured earlier with his girlfriend, the pop star Katy Perry, walking the ski resort’s promenade.

01:02pm

The dollar edged up from three-week lows against the euro and the Swiss franc ahead of Donald Trump’s speech in Davos.

The US currency was also 0.1pc stronger against the pound, which is worth $1.343, as the president’s helicopter touched down at the World Economic Forum after landing a short while ago in Zurich.

Thierry Wizman, an analyst at Macquarie Group, said: “The next step in the ‘Greenland or Bust’ saga ‍is to see whether a ‌common ground, such as Nato joint administration of Greenland, can be reached, starting at Davos this week.”

Mr Trump is expected to address Davos in about half an hour.

12:29pm

Gold has climbed to a fresh record high as investors sought the safety of the precious metal in the uncertainty created by Donald Trump.

Bullion was up as much as 2.7pc to $4,888 per ounce as the US president landed in Switzerland ahead of a speech in front of world leaders in Davos.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Europe should take a “deep breath” and listen to Mr Trump’s case for seizing Greenland.

The president has threatened tariffs on countries opposed to the US taking over the Danish territory.

Daniel Ghali, an analyst at TD Securities, said: “Gold’s rally is about trust. For now, trust has bent, but hasn’t broken. If it breaks, momentum will persist for longer.”

12:17pm

Sir Keir Starmer accused Donald Trump of using words about the Chagos Islands deal which were “different from his previous words”.

The Prime Minister said the US president had done this for “the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland”.

President Trump signed off on the sale of the Chagos Islands in April last year, saying that leasing the US military base on Diego Garcia “doesn’t sound bad”.

12:13pm

Sir Keir Starmer said he “will not yield” to Donald Trump over the future of Greenland and will host Danish premier Mette Frederiksen on Thursday.

Opening Prime Minister’s Questions, Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, said she and Sir Keir agree that “the future of Greenland should only be decided by the people of Greenland”.

She asked: “When the Prime Minister made this point to president Trump on Monday, did the president agree or disagree?”

Sir Keir said: “Well, engaging constructively on international security matters hugely, particularly when it comes to security in the Arctic and that’s the context in which this discussion is going on in relation to Greenland.

“As we engage constructively I have made my position clear on our principles and values. The first of those is that the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone.

“The second is that threats of tariffs to pressurise allies are completely wrong. We will continue to engage constructively. I’ve had many international calls in recent days and the prime minister of Denmark is coming to the United Kingdom tomorrow for bilateral talks.

“But I do want to be clear with the House. I will not yield, Britain will not yield, on our principles and values about the future of Greenland and the threats of tariffs. And that is my clear position.”

12:11pm

Donald Trump has touched down in Switzerland after his journey was delayed by a “minor electrical issue” which forced Air Force One to turn back to Washington shortly after take-off.

The US president landed in a different plane ahead of his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos later today.

11:54am

Scott Bessent said the boss of Deutsche Bank called him to dismiss a report by one of the German investment giant’s own analysts suggesting European investors were dumping US assets.

The US treasury secretary said Christian Sewing had got in touch about the note by analyst George Saravelos, who had suggested Europe may become less willing to hold US assets as Donald Trump seeks control of Greenland.

Mr Saravelos said Europe is the largest lender to the US, owning $8 trillion (£6 trillion) of US bonds and equities.

Mr Bessent said at Davos: “This notion that Europeans would be selling US assets came from a single analyst at Deutsche Bank.

“The CEO of Deutsche Bank called to say that Deutsche Bank does not stand by that analyst report.”

11:41am

The US commerce secretary was heckled at a dinner in Davos ahead of Donald Trump’s appearance at the annual summit, it has been reported.

Howard Lutnick faced widespread jeering after he made combative remarks at the event hosted by BlackRock boss Larry Fink, according to the Financial Times.

11:32am

A growing number of European leaders are either leaving or avoiding Davos, even before Donald Trump’s arrival for an expected Greenland showdown.

French president Emmanuel Macron has left after reportedly failing to secure a one-on-one meeting with Mr Trump.

European Union president Ursula von der Leyen has also left for Strasbourg, although she has reportedly left open the possibility of returning.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has put plans to attend Davos on ice, saying he needs to remain in Kyiv to deal with Russia’s missile attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

His absence has curbed hopes that Western powers will use Davos to sign off a funding package for Ukraine’s air defences and energy sector. But Mr Zelensky said “anything can change at any moment”.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has also bailed out, cancelling his trip after a train crash in southern Spain killed 42 people.

Italian media were also reporting that prime minister Giorgia Meloni is unlikely to go to Davos. On Wednesday, Reuters said she would be joining Macron in refusing to sign up to Trump’s “Board of Peace” plan for Gaza. Mr Trump has threatened 200pc tariffs on French wine in response.

11:19am

Rachel Reeves signalled that financial support for pubs struggling to pay higher business rates could come as soon as the end of the week.

However, in a blow to the wider hospitality sector, the Chancellor also hinted that any immediate relief would be limited to pubs.

Businesses have warned they will struggle to pay higher business rates, as lockdown-era relief is phased out and business premises are revalued

Ms Reeves highlighted that the Treasury had “permanently lowered rates paid by retail, hospitality and leisure,” which still face steep increases in their bills from April.

She added: “I do recognise the particular challenge that the pubs face at the moment, and so [we have] been working with the sector over the last few weeks to make sure that the right support is in place, and we’ll be announcing something in the next few days. We’ve just been using this time to get the package right.”

11:07am

Rachel Reeves has played down tensions between the UK and the US on trade as she signalled that a package to help the country’s struggling pubs would be revealed within days.

The Chancellor insisted the two sides were in regular contact just hours after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said no further trade talks had been scheduled.

Ms Reeves also defended Labour’s deal to hand back to Chagos Islands to Mauritius as she claimed that Donald Trump had been “very positive” about the deal at the time.

She called for calm from British exporters who now face the prospect of 10pc tariffs on goods sent to the US from February 1.

She said: “Businesses know that the UK government has their back”, adding that “people shouldn’t get ahead of themselves” over fears of a UK recession triggered by higher tariffs.

She added there was “no shortage of dialogue” between the US and UK, adding that she was in regular contact with Mr Bessent on WhatsApp.

Ms Reeves said she remained confident that Britain would build on its relationship with the world’s biggest economy. She said: “Last year, through a lot of hard work and diplomacy, we secured the first and the best trade deal with the with the US, and we saw with Jaguar Land Rover and others, the huge benefit that brought to British businesses and the people who work for them.

“We will continue to work to get the best deal for the UK.”

She reiterated comments by US secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick on Tuesday that there was “no reason why the trade deal that was done last year can’t continue to stand”.

10:43am

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The Greenland dispute is being driven by the “rebalancing of powers” between the US and China, a former top Nato official has claimed.

Admiral Rob Bauer (retired) said on Wednesday that Donald Trump was right to be concerned about Beijing’s growing presence in the Arctic, where it is increasingly cooperating with Russia.

China is eyeing potentially lucrative shipping routes through the Arctic, he said, but that the same waters open concerning new possibilities for greater naval activity as well.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Bauer said: “If merchant vessels can navigate those waters, then naval vessels can navigate them too, and that means that the Russians can bring their Pacific fleet in a much easier and faster way into the North Atlantic Ocean.

“Unfortunately, we see a very concerning cooperation between China and Russia. More and more, China calls itself a near Arctic state... and so what is new is that Russia actually allows China in their part of the Arctic, which has never happened before.”

However, he said China’s position on Greenland was hypocritical when viewed alongside its continuing support for Russia in Ukraine.

“They provide political support, because what they said about Greenland, that it’s a sovereign state and internationally recognised borders, and that the US should respect that, I’ve never heard that announcement with regard to Ukraine, towards Russia. So that is interesting.

“It’s clear that all of this, what we see happening, is about rebalancing power between the US and China.”

10:28am

Rachel Reeves warned Donald Trump that Britain “is not here to be buffeted around” as relations soured over the prospects of a UK-US trade deal.

The Chancellor said she had been told by US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick that he saw no reason to undo the trade agreements already made with Britain. She did not refer to ongoing trade discussions.

She added that the UK had agreed “the first and the best” trade deal with the US last year after the president’s initial tariff onslaught and would seek to de-escalate current trade tensions.

“Britain is not here to be buffeted around. We’ve got an economic plan and it is the right one for our country,” she told Sky News at Davos.

“If other countries want to increase trade barriers that is their choice but we are determined to bring trade barriers down, which is why this week I’m meeting with European and Gulf partners, Canadians, to talk about how we can free up trade and make it easier for businesses to trade around the world.

“And on president Trump, we worked last year to get a trade deal and as the US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said when I saw him yesterday he doesn’t see any reason why that trade deal should be undone.”

She added: “At the moment no tariffs have been imposed and I think the right approach and the approach our Prime Minister Keir Starmer has taken over the last year or so is to try and de-escalate and to get the best deal for Britain.”

10:10am

Mr Bessent launched an extraordinary attack on California governor Gavin Newsom after the Democrat branded him “smug” and “out of touch”.

Describing Mr Newsom as “Patrick Bateman meets sparkle beach Ken”, Mr Bessent added that the high-profile Trump critic and potential presidential candidate was “The only Californian who knows less about economics than [former US vice president] Kamala Harris.”

He added: “My message to Governor Newsom is the Trump administration is coming to California where we’re going to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.”

09:45am

China will win the AI race if Western countries do not cooperate, the boss of the world’s largest asset manager has warned.

Larry Fink, the head of the $14tn fund manager BlackRock, said: “For Western economies, if we don’t cooperate, if we don’t scale, China wins.

“There’s enough population there. Privacy laws are obviously quite different there, and so the data that they can accumulate, which is giving them a dramatic advantage.”

He he told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the world was not in an AI stock market bubble, although “there are going to be some big failures”.

Rather than worry about the amount of capital pouring into AI, he said: “We need to spend more money to make sure that we’re competing properly against China.”

He said the success of AI would rely on it diffusing beyond the tech giants and into small and medium sized businesses across all sectors.

“If the technology is just the domain of the six hyperscalers, we will fail,” he said.

09:36am

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Mark Rutte, the general secretary of Nato, has just been mobbed by reporters but remained tight-lipped on his plans today.

The Dutch politician was seen glad-handing Israeli president Isaac Herzog at the World Economic Forum in Davos, before striding off with Milojko Spajić, the prime minister of Montenegro.

Mr Rutte deflected questions about whether he will meet Mr Trump, simply exclaiming: “I have to work!” as his entourage swept away.

09:35am

The US has signalled that trade talks with Britain are on hold as Sir Keir Starmer was accused of “letting down” America over the Chagos Islands.

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, warned of “glitches” in the trade deal between the US and the UK, triggered by Sir Keir’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius. Mr Bessent added that no more trade talks were scheduled between the two countries.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said: “President Trump has made it clear that we will not outsource our national security or our hemispheric security to any other countries.

“Our partner in the UK is letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia, which we’ve shared together for many, many years, and they want to turn it over to Mauritius.”

On Tuesday, Donald Trump criticised Britain’s plan to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as an “act of stupidity”. The US maintains a military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia.

While the UK and US announced a trade deal last May, details are still being worked out. A separate ‘Tech Prosperity Deal’ between the two nations was suspended by Washington in December because of frustration at Britain’s failure to bring down trade barriers.

09:30am

European shares dipped again in the deepening sell-off sparked by Donald Trump’s trade war over Greenland.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.2pc, while the Dax in Frankfurt declined by 0.4pc. The Cac 40 in Paris was down 0.1pc.

The main German and French stock indexes have fallen 2.6pc and 2.4pc so far this week, respectively, after president Trump threatened a ‍wave of new tariffs from February 1 on eight European countries, including Britain, until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.

The FTSE 100 in London was flat, and has performed better in the sell-off as a result of its strong defence stocks.

Its mining companies have also benefited as investors have raced to buy gold in the turmoil, pushing the precious metal to new record highs.

09:21am

US president Donald Trump’s tariffs and his go-it-alone approach could jeopardise the artificial intelligence boom, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has warned.

She said big AI companies had told her that they could only recoup their billions of dollars of investment if they had scale, and if they had access to as much data as possible.

“That would be significantly jeopardised if we have limited access to data because of different privacy laws around the world, and more protectionist barriers that would prevent the scaling of these investments,” she told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“That’s a real threat. The development of AI, the gain of productivity that we hope for, is difficult to reconcile with fragmentation in terms of standards, licensing, access.”

She called on countries to cooperate more, and said this would require “people to accept and tolerate different paradigms, different cultural preferences and different views of the world”.

09:09am

Ed Miliband said Britain has “got to avoid” Donald Trump placing extra tariffs on the country.

The Energy Secretary said the US president’s threats of import taxes unless he is allowed to take control of Greenland had created a “very challenging situation”.

He said he had been told by the Danish foreign minister on Monday that there had been “good talks” with vice president JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “on how we can strengthen Arctic security, including through working with the US in relation to Greenland”.

“I think those talks are really important as a way forward,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“We seek to find common ground, we seek to bridge the divide and it is in no-one’s interest to have a trade war.”

08:57am

There are rumours swirling here of a four-hour mobile phone blackout as Donald Trump descends on Davos.

Some chief executives have been told to find a stable WiFi connection if they want to carry on communicating as security tightens ahead of the visit.

The Telegraph has not been able to verify these claims, though traffic is likely to come to a standstill during the visit.

Others said his helicopter could to be too large to land on the helipad here, raising concerns that it could even cause the Congress Centre to shake. This president is making waves in more ways than one.

08:46am

Donald Trump ⁠will likely arrive at the World Economic Forum in Davos about three hours ‍late, ‌US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said.

“I believe President Trump is going to be ‍about three hours late,” he said ⁠in response ‌to ‍a question about ​a delay ‍to Air Force One.

The US president landed safely ⁠on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews near Washington to change aircraft on Tuesday night after crew on his initial flight identified what the White House called a “minor electrical issue” shortly after take-off.

Mr Trump is ⁠scheduled to ​address ‌world leaders ⁠in ‍Davos later today.

08:45am

The US Treasury Secretary has dismissed Denmark as “irrelevant” after one of the country’s pension funds said it was dumping all its US bonds.

Scott Bessent said he was “not concerned at all” by the move by AkademikerPension - which offers pensions to academics - to sell its entire $100m portfolio of Treasuries.

It comes as Donald Trump prepares to meet global leaders in Switzerland over his plans to take control of Greenland from the Nordic nation.

Mr Bessent said: “The size of Denmark’s investment in US Treasury bonds - like Denmark itself - is irrelevant. It is less than $100 million, they’ve been selling Treasuries for years. I’m not concerned at all.”

Mr Bessent also warned of “glitches” in the trade deal between the US and the UK as he said Sir Keir Starmer was “letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia” by handing the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius.

He said: “President Trump has made it clear that we will not outsource our national security or our hemispheric security to any other countries.

“Our partner in the UK is letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia, which we’ve shared together for many, many years, and they want to turn it over to Mauritius.”

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