Squawk Box Europe Express

Wall Street and Asian indices both fall into the red as global trade concerns weigh following President Trump’s pledge to slap additional tariffs on Chinese imports. Beijing has vowed to impose counter-measures. Nvidia drags global chip stocks down with its market cap dipping below $3tn. President Trump hosts UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and says the two countries are progressing towards a trade deal. In Germany, exploratory coalition talks between the CDU and SPD are set to begin today after no party achieved an outright majority in Sunday’s election.

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Nvidia posts an earnings beat but guidance disappoints Wall Street pushing shares down slightly. The chip giant’s CEO Jensen Huang tells CNBC he remains unfazed by lower-cost challengers. President Trump holds his first cabinet meeting, threatening the EU with a new 25 per cent tariff on imports, saying the bloc’s formation was aimed at ‘screwing’ the U.S. Bitcoin attempts to claw back some losses as a global rout sees up to $800bn wiped off global crypto markets. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is in Washington for his first meeting with President Trump with Ukraine-focused talks set to dominate the agenda.  

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The world’s largest brewer, AB InBev posts record FY revenue but overall volumes fall. Washington and Kyiv are reportedly set to sign an agreement over critical mineral resources in Ukraine in exchange for yet unspecified U.S. support measures. President Donald Trump has seemingly confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy will travel to Washington to sign the deal later this week. Tesla’s market cap slumps below $1tn as nearly all post-U.S. election stock gains have been cancelled out by a 25 per cent drop in share value. In Germany, Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has said he will not tweak the country’s strict debt brake rules. We hear from Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel who says it is important to remain flexible. And the IIF warns that global debt levels have reached $318tn in 2024.  

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President Trump has promised to launch sweeping tariffs on neighbours Canada and Mexico starting next week. JPMorgan boss Jaimie Dimon tells CNBC that most U.S. businesses will largely be unaffected. The U.S. 2- and 10-year Treasuries fall to their lowest point this year so far ahead of Friday’s PCE print. Markets remain jittery about stubborn inflation. In Germany, Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz considers tweaking the country’s debt rules as he seeks to form a coalition government. We speak to top union negotiator for IG Metall and Volkswagen, Thorsten Groger, who says a centrist coalition is vital to safeguard jobs. Tesla sees new car registrations slump by more than 50 per cent in Europe, this despite January showing an uptick for the EV sector.

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Three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the conflict continues, both at home and abroad now with splintering support and a new US administration threatening to upend progress...

So is this finally Europe's "wake-up" call?

Can it still count on the United States for support?

And is the continent actually ready to step up and provide its own collective defence?

We pose those questions and more to Dmytro Kuleba - he spent four years working in President Zelenskyy’s administration as Minister for Foreign Affairs, and played a key role in international negotiations, until his resignation in September 2024

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Friedrich Merz is to become Germany’s next chancellor with the CDU taking 28.6% of the vote. The outgoing SPD crashed to its worst defeat in more than a century. The AfD doubles its votes to come in second and maintains it could still work in a coalition despite the German ‘firewall’ strategy. The hopes of German political stability boosts the euro. And on the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodomyr Zelenskyy says he would be willing to step down if the country received NATO membership.

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Standard Chartered announces it is launching a $1.5bn share buyback after missing Q4 bottom line expectations. The U.S. administration has reportedly refused to call Russia an ‘aggressor’ in a key communiqué following a week of difficult exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. We speak exclusively to former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba who says Trump is only focused on the United States. Alibaba shares surge after the Chinese e-commerce giant announces ‘aggressive’ investment in A.I. and reports its fastest revenue growth in a year. In Germany, campaigning is coming to a close ahead of this Sunday’s elections. The CDU’s frontrunner candidate Friedrich Merz says that Europe’s future is on the line.

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Asian equities are in the red following a unsettled session on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve waits on more information about President Trump’s policies and the inflation forecast before moving to cut rates once more. President Trump slams Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of duping the previous U.S. administration and of misusing military funds sent to the country. In aviation news, Airbus scores a quarterly net profit beat and ups its FY delivery target despite lingering supply chain concerns. Germany’s two main candidates square off in the last debate before Sunday’s election. Polls put CDU leader Friedrich Merz in a strong position to become Chancellor.  

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President Trump is eyeing increased tariffs of 25 per cent on imports of cars, drugs and semi-conductors and he announced he would provide further details in April. Ukraine peace talks between the U.S. and Russia end in Riyadh with both sides pledging increased cooperation. President Trump slams Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s call to be included in negotiations. In banking news, Europe’s largest lender HSBC announces cost cuts of $1.8bn over the next two years as well as a new $2bn buyback. The RBNZ slashes rates by 50bps for the third consecutive time in an attempt to resuscitate growth.

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European allies are divided over a potential peace-keeping mission to Ukraine as U.S. and Russian officials meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the conflict. We hear from French finance minister Eric Lombard who challenges Brussels to “get its act together” in the face of the new Trump administration. In Hong Kong, Chinese tech stocks continue their bullish run nudging the Hang Seng Tech Index to a three-year high. And in Germany, the top candidates for Chancellor are grilled in a town hall ahead of this weekends election. Investor Ann-Kristin Achleitner tells CNBC that the country’s business sector lacks ambition.  

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