Stock market cuts through to Trump on Greenland in a way allies' messages failed to resonate

Investors appeared to have gotten through to President Donald Trump about the risk posed by his designs for Greenland with a message he wasn't hearing from European leaders: Threatening allies with tariffs and land seizure isn't exactly the type of policy that generates confidence in the global economy. Trump on Wednesday backed off his threat to slap punishing tariffs on eight European allies for opposing his insistence on acquiring Greenland from longtime ally Denmark after the plan spooked Wall Street by sparking serious talk within NATO about a fundamental rupture to the transatlantic military alliance that's been a linchpin of post-World War II security. Markets had seen their biggest losses since October as Trump prepared to travel to Davos, Switzerland, to give a keynote address to leaders and the global elite at the World Economic Forum.