The capture of Nicolás Maduro and US intervention in Venezuela have ignited geopolitical tensions, affecting global oil prices and driving Chevron's strategic decisions, while also raising questions about the future of Venezuela's vast oil reserves and international market stability, with hedge funds profiting and oil stocks surging.

• Venezuelan government launches wave of repression after Maduro’s ousting — Financial Times -
• Chevron’s Risky Bet to Stay in Venezuela May Now Give It an Advantage — The New York Times Business -
• Energy & Utilities Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -

• Oil Stocks, Banks Push Dow to New Record — Wall Street Journal -
• Hedge funds profit as Venezuela’s bonds surge — Financial Times -
• ‘I am a decent man’: inside Nicolás Maduro’s first US court hearing — Financial Times -
• Oil prices move higher after Trump’s Venezuela strikes — Financial Times -
• S&P 500’s Energy Sector Rises 2.7% on Investors’ Venezuela Bets — The New York Times Business -
• How Chevron Aims to Tap More Oil Below Kazakhstan’s Grassy Plains — The New York Times Business -
• U.S. Natural Gas Extends Losses on Milder Weather Outlook — Wall Street Journal -
• Starmer criticised for not querying legality of Trump’s Venezuela attack — Financial Times -
• China’s Oil Deal With Venezuela Faces Turning Point — The New York Times Business -
• Trump’s Goals for Reviving Venezuela’s Oil Industry Will Not Come Easily or Cheaply — The New York Times Business -
• Caribbean Travelers Are Stranded After U.S. Raid in Venezuela Cancels Flights — The New York Times Business -
• Stocks Jump After U.S. Captures Venezuela’s Maduro — Wall Street Journal -
• Wall Street stocks climb as US raid in Venezuela lifts energy sector — Financial Times -
• Phillips 66 to buy UK’s Lindsey refinery but will not reopen it — Financial Times -
• The pitfalls of sell-side research in the Trump era: Venezuela edition — Financial Times -
• How Nicolás Maduro’s Capture Could Reshape the Global Order — The New York Times Business -
• Why Oil Prices Are Barely Moving After the Venezuelan Incursion — Wall Street Journal -
• Not Your Father’s Oil Market: Geopolitical Shocks Lack Impact — Wall Street Journal -
• Venezuela and the trouble with the Donroe doctrine — Financial Times -
• What happens next in Venezuela? — Financial Times -
• FirstFT: US prepares to charge Nicolás Maduro — Financial Times -
• Oil Prices Fall as U.S. Capture of Venezuela’s Maduro Raises Questions Over Supply — Wall Street Journal -
• Venezuela’s Men With Guns Remain the Ultimate Power After Maduro’s Ouster — Wall Street Journal -
• US oil baron Harold Hamm sets sights on Milei’s Argentina — Financial Times -
• Trump’s Venezuela punt could turn into an oil-drilling own goal — Financial Times -
• Trump warns Venezuelan rulers as Washington prepares to dictate policy — Financial Times -
• Trump, Venezuela and the limits of the Taco trade — Financial Times -
• EU deference to Trump contorts response to brazen Venezuela attack — Financial Times -
• What is Trump’s plan for Venezuelan oil? — Financial Times -
• ‘I applaud him’: Venezuelan diaspora hails Trump after Maduro’s capture — Financial Times -
• Ex-Chevron executive seeks $2bn for Venezuelan oil projects — Financial Times -
• The woman with Trump’s nod to lead Venezuela — Financial Times -
• Trump plans to ‘run’ Venezuela. What now? — Financial Times -

The US political landscape is active with Hilton facing DHS scrutiny over cancelled reservations, reductions in recommended childhood vaccines, a debate over transcontinental railroad mergers, the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Trump's engagement at Davos, and Minnesota's gubernatorial race amid fraud allegations.

• Hilton Lands in DHS Crosshairs After ICE Agents’ Hotel Reservations Are Canceled — Wall Street Journal -
• US reduces number of recommended vaccines for children — Financial Times -
• Opinion | America Needs a Transcontinental Railroad — Wall Street Journal -

• Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1mn each to back Trump’s Davos hub — Financial Times -
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting Votes to Shut Down — The New York Times Business -
• Nonprofit That Funded NPR and PBS to Dissolve After 58 Years — Wall Street Journal -
• A Study Is Retracted, Renewing Concerns About the Weedkiller Roundup — The New York Times Business -
• Minnesota governor Tim Walz drops re-election run after fraud allegations — Financial Times -
• US wins exemptions from global minimum corporate tax rules — Financial Times -
• The year ahead in US politics — Financial Times -
• Supreme Court Increasingly Favors the Rich, Economists Say — The New York Times Business -
• The US is losing its battle to break up Big Tech — Financial Times -

International affairs are marked by Britain's political leadership instability and economic challenges, India's potential for higher growth, Ukraine's spy chief reshuffle, Denmark's warning on Trump seizing Greenland, EU recycling issues with China, and France's far-right courting businesses as undersea cable outages raise security concerns.

• ‘Donald Trump highway’: how one China ally is courting the US — Financial Times -
• Trump seizing Greenland would end Nato, warns Denmark — Financial Times -
• Britain’s prime ministerial carousel — Financial Times -

• Zelenskyy removes Ukraine’s top spy in reshuffle — Financial Times -
• Has India truly entered a higher growth phase? — Financial Times -
• What is Keir Starmer doing about the cost of living? — Financial Times -
• Baltic countries on alert after series of suspicious undersea cable outages — Financial Times -
• Trade Secrets returns to the predictions game — Financial Times -
• Brussels’ misguided beef with veggie burgers — Financial Times -
• Moment of truth for Britain’s Trump diplomacy — Financial Times -
• EU recycling backfires as Chinese buyers snap up aluminium scrap — Financial Times -
• Taxes will need to rise before next UK election, economists predict — Financial Times -
• French far right courts business leaders as it prepares for power — Financial Times -
• ‘Down to the wire’: ECB’s digital euro project faces decisive vote in 2026 — Financial Times -
• How south-east Asia is riding out Trump’s tariff storm — Financial Times -

Key corporate developments include Dell's efforts to revive its PC business, an **$8.8 billion takeover offer for BlueScope Steel, the sale of UK broadband operator G.Network, AT&T's headquarters relocation, and Bed Bath & Beyond naming a new CEO alongside Universal Music's investment in an Indian movie studio**.

• UK broadband operator sold to distressed debt specialist — Financial Times -
• Dell’s Underperforming PC Business Seeks a Comeback — Wall Street Journal -
• BlueScope Steel Gets $8.8 Billion Takeover Offer From SGH, Steel Dynamics — Wall Street Journal -

• AT&T to Move HQ From Downtown Dallas to Suburb, Joining an Exodus From the Area — Wall Street Journal -
• Universal Music to Buy Stake in India’s Bollywood Movie Studio Excel for $90 Million — Wall Street Journal -
• Bed Bath & Beyond Names Exec Chairman Lemonis CEO — Wall Street Journal -

Changing consumer behaviors and industry adaptations are evident in travel loyalty programs wooing customers with exclusive experiences, shifting car sales dynamics towards affluent buyers, Planet Fitness's focus on Gen Z strength training, Equinox's AI-driven ad campaign, the growing trend of 'Chinese peptides' in tech circles, elite colleges regaining recruiter preference, and America's declining love for pizza.

• Colleen Keating, CEO of Planet Fitness, on Gen Z and Strength Training — The New York Times Business -
• Travel Loyalty Programs Woo Fickle Customers With Members-Only Experiences — The New York Times Business -
• GM, Toyota Hint at Tough Year Ahead for U.S. Auto Sales — Wall Street Journal -

• New Car Sales Are Rising Thanks to Purchases by the Well-Off — The New York Times Business -
• Why Equinox Leaned on AI Slop in Its New Year’s Ad Campaign — Wall Street Journal -
• ‘Chinese Peptides’ Are the Latest Biohacking Trend in the Tech World — The New York Times Business -
• Elite Colleges Are Back at the Top of the List for Company Recruiters — Wall Street Journal -
• America Is Falling Out of Love With Pizza — Wall Street Journal -

The financial sector is seeing Goldman Sachs embroiled in a consulting firm legal row, Jamie Dimon's substantial compensation highlighting banking's resurgence, **record-breaking M&A spending by US asset managers, and internal discussions on why senior bankers stay in lucrative roles**.

• Goldman Sachs investment becomes flashpoint in consulting firm legal row — Financial Times -
• Jamie Dimon’s $770 Million Haul Shows How Bankers Are on Top Again — The New York Times Business -
• In finance, there can be too few reasons to leave — Financial Times -

• US asset managers break M&A spending record — Financial Times -

The technology sector is seeing AI start-ups challenge Google in the web browser market, a roundup of tech, media, and telecom market talks, and broader trends for 2026 highlighting AI's potential impact on global economies.

• Tech, Media & Telecom Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -
• Ruchir Sharma: top 10 trends for 2026 — Financial Times -
• AI start-ups take on Google in fight to reshape web browser market — Financial Times -