Highlights of the week: Greenland deal, SpaceX IPO acceleration and $50 billion for OpenAI

Donald Trump said the Greenland deal with NATO was "framed" and rejected new duties against Europe. OpenAI has begun talks to raise up to $50 billion from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Elon Musk is accelerating SpaceX's IPO to fund space AI data centers and is thinking about returning to politics. The main events of January 19-23 are in our review.

The US and NATO have formed a "framework for a future deal" on Greenland and the Arctic region, Donald Trump said after a meeting with the alliance's secretary general in Davos. Due to the "mutual understanding" reached, the US president said he would not impose additional duties on goods from eight European countries, which were due to take effect on February 1.

"We have formed the framework for a future deal regarding Greenland and indeed the entire Arctic region," Trump wrote on Truth Social. - This decision, if realized, will be great for the United States of America and all NATO countries. Based on the understanding reached, I will not impose the duties scheduled to go into effect on February 1."

Trump's statement sharply supported the markets: the main U.S. stock indices rose more than 1% in trading on January 21 - after two days of decline amid fears of a trade war. Earlier threats of duties over Greenland triggered sell-offs and heightened investor anxiety, while the refusal to impose them was seen as a signal of de-escalation.

What else is there to read about it?

- The toughening of the US rhetoric - from threats of a trade war with Europe to statements about territorial claims - has so far had little effect on the dollar exchange rate. Sergey Romanchuk, a financier and member of ACI's Foreign Exchange Committee, explained why investors should not relax in his article "The dollar survived the Greenland scandal. But there are more risks for it".

- On what valuation methods are appropriate to calculate the "fair value" of Greenland, Arbat Capital Advisory Services Limited (UK) analyst Alexei Golubovich and Arbat Capital Managing Director Alexander Orlov discuss in the article "From $12.5 billion to $2.6 trillion: how to calculate the fair value of Greenland".

Elon Musk has accelerated preparations for the IPO of SpaceX - the project, previously considered medium- to long-term, has become a priority amid the hype around AI and competition with Blue Origin and OpenAI, The Wall Street Journal wrote on December 21, citing sources. The offering could take place as early as July. The key reason - Musk is obsessed with the idea that SpaceX could be the first to place data centers for artificial intelligence in orbit, WSJ writes.

On Friday, December 23, WSJ, citing sources, reported that Elon Musk is back on the political agenda ahead of the US midterm elections in 2026. The White House and Musk himself declined to comment to WSJ. However, according to the publication, Musk's team has begun preparations for a potential campaign and has already held meetings with potential contractors for possible work in the election.

Elon Musk's brief stint at the government's Department of Government Efficiency caused reputational damage to Tesla and was accompanied by protests and vandalism. This pressure was one of the factors behind the weakening demand for electric cars and the decline in the company's market capitalization.

Shares of Ubisoft, the developer of the Assassin's Creed game, plummeted by almost 40% in Paris on January 22, hitting an all-time low after the announcement of a major restructuring. The company will close two divisions, stop developing several games and record a loss of about €1 billion in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which provoked a sharp sell-off.

As part of the reforms, Ubisoft will stop developing six games, postpone the release of seven more and expect to cut fixed costs by more than €100 million. Ubisoft has been struggling for some time: the company delayed the release of Assassin's Creed Shadows after weak demand for Star Wars Outlaws and lowered forecasts. The situation was exacerbated by errors identified by auditors in the first half of its fiscal year 2025-2026 report. This led to it breaching its credit agreement, after which Ubisoft sold 26.3% in its first division to tech giant Tencent for €1.16 billion.

OpenAI is in talks to raise about $50 billion in a new round of financing with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, CNBC reported, citing sources. Earlier the negotiations were reported by Bloomberg. The terms of the deal have not yet been fixed and may change: according to CNBC, the head of OpenAI Sam Altman is now in the UAE and is involved in the negotiations. Closing of the round is expected in the first quarter.

The company that launched ChatGPT has already raised record amounts of capital: last year, $40 billion in a round led by SoftBank with participation from Microsoft and other investors. In October 2025, OpenAI also sold $6.6 billion worth of shares, raising the startup's valuation to $500 billion.

Netflix's fourth quarter report exceeded analysts' expectations: revenue grew 18% to $12.05 billion, net income increased 29.4% to $2.42 billion, and the number of subscribers exceeded 325 million - an increase of almost 8% year-on-year. Advertising revenues grew 2.5 times to $1.5 billion, confirming the effectiveness of the advertising model and price increases.

Despite the strong results, Netflix shares plunged 5% in extended trading on Tuesday, January 20, and lost another 2% of their value the next day. The company warned of rising costs: spending on content will increase by 10% in 2026, in addition to additional costs associated with the purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. Because of this, Netflix expects weaker earnings in the coming quarter and is suspending its share buyback despite maintaining double-digit revenue growth rates.

What else is there to read about Netflix?

- Wall Street remained positive on Netflix after the report, predicting advertising revenue growth in 2026. Why the stock remains interesting to buy - in the article "Temporary weakness: analysts advised to buy Netflix shares on the downturn".

Renault plans to close the Ampere Holding division, which develops electric cars and software, in order to return this business to the concern. This was written by Reuters with reference to sources close to the company. The reorganization is planned from July 1: Ampere plants in France and engineering teams will become part of the Renault Group, with no mass layoffs expected. Shares of the carmaker at the auction in Paris on January 21 rose by 3.3%.

The decision is related to the rejection of Ampere's IPO in early 2024 and the desire to simplify the structure, reduce costs and accelerate the launch of new projects. After the unlisting, keeping a separate company made no sense, the agency's sources said. Ampere, previously the flagship project of the Luca de Meo era, will now become an internal center of advanced EV engineering.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor