The Inevitability of the 'Deal'
Trump makes a deal with Greenland... New tariffs are off the table... A long, busy day in Davos... The Supreme Court backs the Fed... Stocks may soon trade 24/7... The NYSE moves toward the blockchain...
Today, we saw the backtracking...
Remember that thing about the U.S. wanting to own Greenland – and not being afraid to use potential military options and tariff threats to get it? Forget about all that.
After arriving three hours late because of an electrical issue with Air Force One, President Donald Trump took the stage today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He told the crowd...
We never asked for anything, and we never got anything. 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. OK? Everyone here is saying, "Oh, good." That's probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force.
Mr. Market was relieved – at least initially.
The major U.S. stock indexes were each up more than 1% this morning, reversing most of yesterday's losses in what we described as another "tariff tantrum."
As we explained, in calling for a "Complete and Total purchase of Greenland" on a Truth Social post over the weekend because "World Peace is at stake!", Trump threatened additional 10% and possibly 25% tariffs against eight European NATO nations until a "deal" was reached.
However, the thing that got lost in the immediate reaction to Trump's speech was that the tariff threats remained. Trump said he still wanted to "get Greenland" (presumably for resources and a strategic location), and that U.S. control would be "good" for Europe and NATO.
Following Trump's comments, European leaders went on the offensive...
The European Union ("EU") Parliament voted today to indefinitely suspend the trade and tariffs agreement that Trump and EU President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to last year, with the EU saying Trump's new tariff threats violated the deal.
That agreement was just that – an agreement. There was the important detail of the EU Parliament needing to formally vote on it. A vote was set for next week, but was postponed.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, said of Trump after his speech today: "I guess he didn't revise his position. He wants to have Greenland as part of the United States as quick as possible."
U.S. stocks turned lower around mid-day when the news of Europe's response broke.
Then came the 'deal'...
About 90 minutes before the market closed today, Trump posted on Truth Social that he and Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte agreed on a "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland" after a meeting in Davos.
Importantly, Trump's threatened additional tariffs that would have begun February 1 will not be imposed.
Other details were scant, but Trump said more talks about Greenland's involvement in the U.S. "Golden Dome" project will be had. And he said in a CNBC interview that "mineral rights" will also be involved.
Stocks shot higher on the announcement, and the benchmark S&P 500 Index closed up around 1.3%, erasing much of the losses from yesterday.
This was entirely predictable. We wrote yesterday that the big question for the market was tariffs...
Are tariff threats back to taking on prominence like they did last spring, or are the fears of today going to be considered empty threats by tomorrow, next week, or next month?
Turns out, the answer was "tomorrow." Remember this the next time the idea of new tariffs comes up again from the White House. As we said, de-escalation seemed inevitable, much like what happened with the tariff threats of 2025 that nearly plunged the S&P 500 into a bear market…
Perhaps, on a smaller scale, this dynamic will play out this time as well. On the subject at hand, the U.S. could end up with a larger military presence in Greenland or access to more resources, rather than making the territory another U.S. state.
Trump is already set to meet in person with European leaders in Davos, Switzerland this week at the World Economic Forum. [We] expect to hear plenty more news from there. If some deal is reached, today's downward market action could be temporary.
Also keep in mind that the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of Trump's use of "reciprocal" tariffs soon.
Speaking of the Supreme Court...
It heard oral arguments today in the case of Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor whom Trump is looking to fire "for cause" for alleged mortgage fraud.
I (Corey McLaughlin) listened to some of the proceedings and read more about what I didn't hear directly, and it sounds like Trump's case doesn't stand a chance – at least in the Supreme Court.
Even the conservative justices whom Trump nominated to the court are skeptical of the facts of the case... and have concerns about treading on "Fed independence." They even mentioned the potential market impact of eroding confidence in the central bank.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said firing Cook "would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve." He said it could lead to presidents firing Fed governors whenever political power changed and over "trivial or inconsequential or old allegations that are very difficult to disprove."
At the very least, a few justices suggested that firing a Fed governor for cause requires more of a judicial process to allow the accused to respond to the charges against them.
On that point, Cook's lawyer said it was an "inadvertent mistake" that she listed two homes as primary residences on mortgage applications and that one of the applications had an attachment that described one residence as a "vacation home."
So it's likely that Cook will remain in her job for the time being. To me, all of this also suggests that any White House attempts to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell as chair (before his term is up in May) or as governor (before his term is up in early 2028) over alleged mismanagement of Fed building renovations would also be met with judicial challenges.
Overall, it means Trump won't have as much control over the Fed's decisions (and interest rates) as he may want early this year. However, he still gets to pick a new Fed Chair to begin the job in May. Trump could announce his choice next week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday.
Elsewhere, big changes are coming to the stock market...
On Monday, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) – which owns and operates the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") – announced plans to develop a blockchain-based 24-hour, seven-days-a-week trading platform as soon as this year.
From the company's press release...
NYSE's new digital platform will enable tokenized trading experiences, including 24/7 operations, instant settlement, orders sized in dollar amounts, and stablecoin-based funding. Its design combines the NYSE's cutting-edge Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems, including the capability to support multiple chains for settlement and custody.
In layman's terms, folks could soon trade stocks and exchange-traded funds at any time – entirely on the blockchain.
It's the next step in digitizing the stock market... and it's a sign of increasing blockchain adoption.
In the January 2025 issue of Crypto Capital, editor Eric Wade explained how the digital world has already helped speed up stock trading from the previous paper stock certificates. From that issue...
Early stock trades in the 1920s were referred to as "T+1," meaning you had one day after the trade to settle your trade. But by the 1960s and 1970s, stock trading had increased so much that the exchanges went to T+5 settlement times. With digital certificates, settlement times are now back down to T+1.
But, as Eric says, "digital stock certificates are just the beginning."
Intercontinental Exchange isn't completely new to the blockchain. It's already working with banking giants Citigroup (C) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) to use the technology to help clients manage their margin obligations and other funding requirements outside of normal market hours. With this week's announcement, folks could soon trade stocks at any time.
But stocks aren't the only asset that's coming to the blockchain.
Other real-world assets ('RWAs') are going digital, too...
This is a trend that Eric has been following for a while. More from the January 2025 Crypto Capital...
Essentially, an RWA is any off-chain traditional asset like a stock or bond or anything that exists in the physical world like precious metals, real estate, fine art, and even the computer, tablet, or phone you're reading this on.
RWAs can be brought to the blockchain through tokenization, which represents the ownership of an RWA through a digital token that can be traded, staked, or held in a digital wallet.
While adoption of RWAs on the blockchain has been slow – Eric blames things like limited features on certain blockchains – the trend has picked up steam in the past two years. As he wrote in December...
You see, RWAs on-chain are growing rapidly – from $2 billion in early 2023 to $3 billion in 2024 and nearly $20 billion today.
This trend is just beginning to take off. And the NYSE's move to put stock trading on the blockchain is a big tailwind. The NYSE handles more than 8 billion shares per day. Even a small fraction of that moving to the blockchain will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the total value "on-chain."
Aside from the dollar value, an institution like the NYSE adopting blockchain is a huge vote of confidence for the technology. And it'll likely lead to more RWAs going on-chain.
In that December issue, Eric recommended "a project that has become an RWA infrastructure front-runner." And it's still in buy range today. Existing Crypto Capital subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members can read the full report here.
One other must-mention from today's market action...
Yesterday, we talked about how natural gas moved 8% higher on expectations of a winter storm that will impact about half the country this week. Today, the price soared about 29%.
The weather plays a role here, but the outsized move higher also has to do with positioning in natural gas futures and short covering.
As Jason Shapiro of Crowded Market Report – a former Stansberry Investor Hour guest who is featured in Jack Schwager's "Market Wizards" series – noted yesterday to his readers, "Large Speculators decided to increase their net-short positions to a level we have not seen since March 2020."
Taking a contrarian view, that means this was an environment ripe for a move higher.
Finally today...
Our annual Report Card is coming to the Digest soon. We're planning the first installment for Friday.
For those who are new, every year, we evaluate our newsletters and grade the performance of our editors' recommended portfolios, complete with letter grades A through F and explanations and context for the results.
This year will mark the 20th edition of the exercise, which was created by our founder Porter Stansberry to share an objective analysis of our track records so subscribers can judge which strategies and editors they'd like to follow, as he explained back in 2007.
Our Director of Research and Publisher Matt Weinschenk will take over as the grader this year.
New 52-week highs (as of 1/20/26): Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), First Majestic Silver (AG), Altius Minerals (ALS.TO), Barrick Mining (B), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), EnerSys (ENS), Equinox Gold (EQX), Comfort Systems USA (FIX), Franco-Nevada (FNV), VanEck Gold Miners Fund (GDX), VanEck Junior Gold Miners Fund (GDXJ), SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index Fund (KEMX), Kinross Gold (KGC), Monster Beverage (MNST), Newmont (NEM), Natural Resource Partners (NRP), Realty Income (O), OR Royalties (OR), Pan American Silver (PAAS), Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS), Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV), Royal Gold (RGLD), Roche (RHHBY), Seabridge Gold (SA), Sprott (SII), Skeena Resources (SKE), iShares Silver Trust (SLV), Snap-on (SNA), Torex Gold Resources (TORXF), Uranium Energy (UEC), ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL), Vale (VALE), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM), and ExxonMobil (XOM).
In today's mailbag, feedback on yesterday's Digest, which covered Trump's push for the U.S. to "own" Greenland... Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"While I agree with many of [President Trump's] policy aims, I really don't see the point of wanting Greenland so bad and I see no point in the coercion and humiliation he is using to get his own way on this issue." – Subscriber S.J.I.
"You wrote in yesterday's Digest, mentioning Greenland, about the possibility of 'making the territory another U.S. state.' Of 57,000 people – really? I can't fathom why any American would support (and the vast majority don't) taking over Greenland, by whatever adverse means, when a huge majority of Greenlanders outright reject that. Imperialism at its most extreme – from the 'land of the free'? If it happened, Greenlanders would then be subject to the much weaker (and steadily weakening) social safety net in the U.S.; lose the significant say they now have in their own affairs; and lose any possibility of future independence, which many there desire. Such a travesty!" – Subscriber Jim B.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin with Nick Koziol
Baltimore, Maryland
January 21, 2026