US President Donald Trump gave a big speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.
Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
The world’s power players and top executives braced for what Trump would say — or not say — about Greenland on Wednesday. Now that the speech is done and dusted, the sun dawns on Davos, bringing forth another day of discussion on the top topics in tech, governance, and the markets.
We’ll be bringing you live updates throughout day four of Davos right here. Follow along for the latest.
JPM’s top European bankers on clients’ uncertainty
JPMorgan Chase
: Bob Henry/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Conor Hillery and Matthieu Wiltz are well-versed in how European investors are feeling.
JPMorgan’s co-CEOs of EMEA took a two-week trip across Europe and the Middle East to meet with clients at the start of the year. It corresponded with escalating geopolitical situations in Venezuela and Greenland, making for a unique trip.
When I spoke to them on Wednesday morning, before Trump’s speech, they told me clients aren’t necessarily looking to pull the plug on things, but the questions are mounting.
“I think it’s just raising the spectre of uncertainty, so clients aren’t making any definitive assumptions at this stage,” Hillery told me. “In the back of their heads, they are starting to think that this could get a lot more complicated than it’s been for the last few years.”
And even since the trip, the situation is evolving almost minute by minute.
“There is a bit more of a question mark now compared to the first two weeks of January,” Wiltz added.
Newsom: ‘I’m living rent-free in Trump’s head’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom went hard on Trump at his morning session.
Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
There was a bit of show-and-tell from the California governor at his morning session. He took out a set of red kneepads, which he said are meant for the CEOs who kneel to Trump. He also accused some corporate leaders — he didn’t name them — of “selling out to this administration.”
No shortage of jabs at Trump, too. The governor called Trump an “invasive species,” among other things.
“I’m living rent-free in Trump’s head,” Newsom said.
Musk has slammed Davos in the past
He posted negatively about the forum in 2022 and 2023.
My reason for declining the Davos invitation was not because I thought they were engaged in diabolical scheming, but because it sounded boring af lol
Newsom sparred with Scott Bessent and, on Wednesday, stared into the camera in the middle of Trump’s speech with a wry, knowing smile — giving his best imitation of Jim from “The Office.”
The California governor has also been making his rounds with the press, giving snappy soundbites about how the Democratic Party and world leaders should best deal with the president.
This morning in Davos, Newsom will get his share of the spotlight. He’s scheduled for a panel at 8:30 a.m. local time.
It was all about Trump on Wednesday
Trump Davos
Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
ICYMI, though we don’t know how you could’ve.
After a slight hiccup in his travel plans due to an electrical fault on Air Force One, President Donald Trump and his team swept into Davos on Wednesday for a much-anticipated speech.
The reactions? Mixed. Business Insider was in the room for his speech, and we fact-checked the president’s praise for the US economy.
And after all the panic over Greenland, Trump called off his new tariffs on Europe. There’s to be a “framework” in place, per an agreement with NATO, with more to come on what that’ll mean.
Robot drivers will ultimately outperform humans on safety, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Tuesday in Davos.
“If you think about the world 20 years from now, your Uber is going to be driven largely not by a human being, but by a robot driver — a piece of software on top of a car,” Khosrowshahi said, adding that vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated and more like “computers on wheels.”
Robot drivers will ultimately outperform humans on safety, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Tuesday in Davos.
“If you think about the world 20 years from now, your Uber is going to be driven largely not by a human being, but by a robot driver — a piece of software on top of a car,” Khosrowshahi said, adding that vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated and more like “computers on wheels.”
Khosrowshahi said autonomous systems have clear advantages over human drivers. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the robot driver can be safer than a human driver,” he said. Robot drivers don’t get tired or distracted, don’t text while driving, and can operate continuously while improving over time, he added.
The key question, Khosrowshahi said, is what level of safety is “enough” for robot drivers — whether matching human performance is sufficient or whether autonomous vehicles should be held to a higher standard.
In the longer term, he said, human driving could resemble horseback riding today, becoming a niche activity done for enjoyment.
“There’s no doubt that 10 years from now, there will be questions as to whether humans are safe enough,” he said.
Moving at superspeed isn’t limited to SpaceX’s rockets.
Elon Musk’s satellite and rocket company has secured one million new customers for its Starlink internet in under seven weeks and is now active in 155 markets, the company wrote in a post on X on Monday evening.
“Starlink is connecting more than 9M active customers with high-speed internet across 155 countries, territories, and many other markets,” the company said.
In a similar post from November 5, SpaceX said Starlink had 8 million customers, meaning that its customer base has expanded at a rate of more than 20,000 per day since that date.
SpaceX, which uses a constellation of more than 9,000 low-orbit satellites to provide its Starlink internet connection, including to remote areas, is reportedly planning to go public next year at a valuation of $1.5 trillion.
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Elon Musk, who founded the company in 2002, said this month that the satellite network was “by far” the largest driver of SpaceX’s revenue.
The numbers close an explosive year of growth for SpaceX. In a December 2024 progress report, SpaceX said Starlink had 4.6 million customers, and by August 2025, the number was up to 7 million.
Global web traffic from users on SpaceX’s satellite-based internet service more than doubled in 2025, according to data from Cloudflare, a cybersecurity company that handles tens of millions of requests between users and websites every second.
Around two dozen airlines have also announced plans to use Starlink to offer high-speed WiFi on their planes, and SpaceX has signalled it could soon launch its own mobile carrier service powered by the satellite network.
SpaceX has successfully commercialized reusable rockets, a feat previously thought impossible by many within the space industry, and now launches more cargo into orbit than any other company.
It has also capitalized on opportunities that emerged as NASA and the Pentagon moved away from government-only spaceflight, and filled a massive unmet demand in global connectivity.
Led by Musk, who is the CEO and founder, SpaceX is also known for its intense, efficiency-driven culture.
SpaceX ultimately plans to fulfill its billionaire founder’s ambitious visions of colonizing Mars and putting data centers in space with its giant Starship rocket.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Cookie baking, decorating, stuffing stockings, building a holiday village scene with Iron Man and Thor action figures — just like a huggable snowman discovered, everyone has traditions for that time of year.
We’re a blended family with kids ranging in age from 17 to mid-30s. As our kids have moved from being wide awake at 5:30 am to testing Santa to creating their own holiday magic as adults, our traditions have grown and changed with them. As a result, it’s all less stressful.
We’ve expanded the days of the holiday
A Christmas Tweve holiday lunch with Christmas crackers and cassoulet.
Courtesy of the author
Right around Thanksgiving, I am reminded that it’s not just wonderful, it’s also a wacky and wearisome time of the year.
I grew up in blended families. By middle school, both of my parents had remarried, doubling the number of families to see during the festive season. By the fifth stop on a whirlwind Christmas Day in high school, my brother and I were stuffed with cookies and even burned out on opening presents.
For most of our 20-year marriage, I’ve felt like I’m reliving those teenage years all over again as we try to squeeze in his family, my multiple families, and the kids’ other family commitments into two overstuffed days of festive cheer.
As the kids got older and added commitments to their significant others and time for their own families, we realized Christmas is too short. Two days were just not enough time to cram in all the festivities and have at least a little time left for our family.
So, some years, we celebrate what we call “Christmas Tweve,” the day before Christmas Eve. We spend most of the day hanging out, having a festive feast, and then opening gifts. Sometimes we have a houseful overnight, and everyone stays up late watching Christmas movies and eating my feeble attempts at pancake art for breakfast.
We have scaled back the decorations
Our Advent calendar is surrounded by my favorite decoration, kid’s artwork.
Courtesy of the author
We are down to two kids living at home, and the number of holiday decorations has reduced.
One year, we had multiple trees, each decorated in a different theme — a candy-themed 5-foot tree, a mini tree in the kids’ rooms, and a fancy ornament 7-foot tree.
There were two Christmas villages, one in the kitchen. The kitchen and living room looked like Christmas exploded in them. Every room had a few decorations — a tree, figurines, holiday towels, and a wreath on the door.
There was a time when seven of us were decorating. Now it’s down to four, and we’re focusing more on the nostalgic and sentimental decorations. Our tree is covered in ornaments from places we’ve traveled and the kids created.
I used to frame the sliding door in our kitchen with the kids’ artwork – cotton-ball snowmen, sparkly handprint reindeer, and a painted winter scene.
A few years ago, my youngest and I had a holiday moment of tension when I displayed elementary school artwork with their previous name. They’re nonbinary, and it bothered them seeing that name plastered all over the kitchen.
I got creative and modified my favorites — erasing letters, trimming corners, and folding back edges. Now I display favorites onl,y and it’s down to one wall shared with our Advent calendar.
Our Advent calendar changes along with our family
One year the kids weren’t into the Advent calendar, so we did it with the dog instead.
Courtesy of the author
When the kids were younger, we had multiple Advent calendars — one with treats and one with toys. One year, it was Disney Tsum Tsums, there was “Star Wars” Lego, and then socks. A few years ago, no one was really interested, and we got one for the dog.
Now, our Advent calendar is a meaningful tradition. It’s the same one each year, and this year, my youngest helped shop for the candy, hopefully marking the start of a new tradition.
Our kids have started their own traditions
Our kids have made our holiday village their own.
Courtesy of the author
When she was in college, my stepdaughter started making an annual ornament with a silly picture of herself. The perfect gift on a tight budget — inexpensive and very meaningful.
Now she’s a mom, married, and decorating her own place. Every year, my husband, the two youngest kids, and I put all 11 ornaments she’s created on the tree — her with Chipotle burritos, in a snow globe, and with her son.
A few years ago, our oldest came to stay when his spouse was out of town. I put him and his two younger siblings in charge of the holiday village.
When I heard my youngest rummaging through their toys, I knew the holiday village was going to have a different vibe than it had in past years. Lego minifigs, Power Rangers, and assorted superheroes perched on festive rooftops and hid in the snow.
Every stage of our kids’ lives means something new. Sometimes it’s capped with a major milestone, such as a driver’s license, wedding, or graduation, as a reminder to stop and savor this time.
With the holidays, there wasn’t a big event to mentally prepare for the change. Gradually, things were different — gone were the days of classroom holiday party crafts and a big group decorating the tree. Now it’s crafts from doggy day care, Christmas Tweve, and Spider-Man in the village. And I love it.
