Stocks closed lower yesterday across the board.

Yesterday was the market's first regular session to react to President Trump's weekend threats to levy tariffs on those countries (fellow NATO members) that oppose U.S. efforts to control Greenland.

The President said he would impose a 10% tariff, starting on February 1, on all goods coming into the U.S. from those countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Finland). And they would rise to 25% on June 1 if no deal is reached on the sale or control of Greenland by then.

In response, the EU is considering retaliatory tariffs and other economic measures, including the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which could restrict U.S. companies' access to the EU market, impose export and import restrictions, limit U.S. foreign direct investment, and other measures.

The President sees Greenland as strategically important to the security of the U.S. and the Arctic region.

Expect to hear more about this today when President Trump speaks at the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF), held in Davos, Switzerland. He is scheduled to speak today at 8:30 AM ET.

Yesterday, President Macron of France spoke at the WEF and called President Trump's tariffs regarding Greenland "unacceptable."

WEF runs thru Friday morning.

In addition to political leaders, there will also be a long list of business leaders in attendance, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase; Jensen Huang of NVIDIA; Satya Nadella of Microsoft, and others.

In other news, it was reported that a Danish pension manager (Anders Schelde of AkademikerPension) was selling $100 million of U.S. Treasuries. The firm cited "poor" U.S. government finances. But the timing appears more than coincidental. Mr. Schelde said that "it is not directly related to the ongoing rift between the U.S. and Europe, but of course that didn't make it more difficult to take the decision."

Yesterday, Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater, cautioned that the political row between the U.S. and Europe could turn into a "capital war," whereas countries buy fewer Treasuries or sell Treasuries.

Others are calling it the "sell America" trade. That includes a falling dollar. And rising gold and silver prices.

Earnings season picks up this week with another 160+ companies in queue to report.

Before the open yesterday, 3M reported earnings and posted a positive EPS surprise of 0.55%, and a negative sales surprise of -0.54%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 8.93% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of 2.10%. They were off -6.98% yesterday.

After the close, Netflix posted a positive EPS surprise of 1.82%, and a positive sales surprise of 0.67%. That equated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 30%, and a sales growth of 18%. They were off -1.08% in the regular session before earnings. And were off another -4.50% in after-hours trade following earnings.

Interactive Brokers also reported after the close and posted a positive EPS surprise of 11%, and a positive sales surprise of 1.1%, for a quarterly EPS growth rate of 27%, and a sales growth of 15.4%. They were down -2.52% in the regular session, and were off -0.50% in after-hours trade post-earnings.

Today we'll hear from another 35 companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Charles Schwab, and The Travelers Companies to name a few.

On the economic report front, we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications, and the Pending Home Sales Index.

Earnings season should be the focus right now. And it probably will be. But the Greenland issue risks overshadowing earnings, at least temporarily.

See you tomorrow,