EU TRANSPORTATION: PostNL: requests government support, leaks say denied (x2)

• President Donald Trump will sit down with Fox News' Sean Hannity for his first post-inauguration network interview.
• Trump suggested he may impose tariffs on the EU and China on February 1, broadening a tariff threat he issued to Canada and Mexico shortly after his inauguration.
• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) promised to keep the Senate in session through the weekend after Democrats blocked quick passage for Trump’s CIA Director nominee.
• Two Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the nomination of Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick Scott Bessent, teeing up a confirmation vote in the coming days.
• Trump announced the “largest AI infrastructure project in history” alongside the CEOs of OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle.
• A series of meetings between Trump and Congressional Republican leaders at the White House appear to have done little to resolve a dispute over reconciliation strategy.
• Democrats have warned House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) against linking California wildfire relief to the debt limit.
• Two Treasury Department hires appear to have shifted the centre of tax negotiations from Congress to the executive branch.
• The SEC announced it will launch a “crypto task force” to develop a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.”
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first meetings at the State Department signalled continuity of the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific multilateralism with Japan, India, and Australia.
• Poll of the Day: Trump starts his second term with a healthy approval rating. 

Full article: US DAILY BRIEF

Speaking in Paris, where he is hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron speaks on EU and national responses to the second Trump presidency in the US. Says "More than ever [it is] up to Europeans, and France and Germany to protect our sovereignty in light of the arrival of Trump." 

• Macron: "Europe must not only spend more on defence, but also have its own defence strategy." Scholz: "Germany and France could do more together on defence". Says he has reassured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that "German support for Ukraine will remain."
• Scholz "Europe must be strong in a world in flux...Trump will be a challenge...We will analyse in Europe the measures Trump has announced."
• While both sides have backed increased action on defence, deep divisions remain. Macron has talked up significant spending on militaries and developing 'strategic autonomy' in case of Trump drawing down US support. Scholz on the other hand has dismissed the idea of spending 5% of GDP on defence, as mooted by Trump, as unaffordable.
• As Politico notes, "The two sides are pulling in the same direction on competitiveness and cutting red tape. [...] An EU bureaucracy reduction plan is due to be launched at the beginning of February. The Clean Industrial Deal, which Brussels intends to present on Feb. 26 [...] contains ideas that have the blessing of Paris and Berlin."

• Spread set earlier at MS++75bp (guidance was MS+77bp area)
• Size: E3bln (WNG)
• Books closed in excess of E31bln (inc E1.75bln JLM interest)
• HR 101%  vs 2.50% Jul-44 Bund
• Maturity: 15 April 2045
• Settlement: 29 January 2025 (T+5)
• Coupon: Short first
• ISIN: FI4000586284
• Bookrunners: Barclays / Bofa Securities (DM/ B&D) / Danske Bank / Deutsche Bank / J.P. Morgan
• Timing: Hedge deadline 13:50GMT / 14:50CET

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