Donald Trump prepares to signal dozens of government orders | Invesloan.com

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT on this historic day. Thanks to all the readers who sent questions to me about the upcoming administration and I hope you enjoyed Saturday’s special edition. If you missed it you can read it online here. Coming up today:

• The swearing in of the 47th US president

• Three Israeli hostages released

• TikTok restores US access

• And lunch with presidential biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin

Donald Trump and his top advisers are finalising about 100 executive actions that he will sign in his first days in office beginning today, as the incoming president rushes to enact his populist and nationalist agenda.

The first measures by Trump, who has vowed to be a dictator “on day one” of his second term, are set to include curbing immigration, increasing tariffs, and deregulating sectors ranging from energy to cryptocurrencies.

Observers say Trump’s first steps will serve as a test of how far he believes he can act unilaterally without Congress, given his view that US presidents should have wide-ranging authorities compared with other branches of government.

The details of the dozens of expected executive orders remained under wraps over the weekend but this is what we know so far about what the incoming president is planning to announce and here’s what to expect over the coming hours on what promises to be a day of pomp and circumstance in Washington DC.

As Trump returns to the White House, what will his second term mean for America and the world? Join leading FT journalists and their guests to gain critical insights into the next four years.

And here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• World Economic Forum: The annual gathering of global elites kicks off in the Alpine ski resort of Davos. The FT will also be there. Sign up for daily events.

• Markets: Financial markets are closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day.

Five more top stories

1. After 471 days three Israeli hostages — Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 — made the painstaking journey from captivity to freedom in Israel yesterday. The release marked the start of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the beginning of a phased agreement that will see dozens more Israeli hostages freed, as well as 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released and the potential end to the conflict. Here’s more.

• Relief laced with dread: Even with the release of three women, uncertainty remains acute for families of those still in Gaza.

2. TikTok restored access for US users yesterday after Donald Trump promised to sign an executive order today guaranteeing that companies that enabled the video app to stay in service would not be held liable for violating a ban. Trump said he would like the US “to have a 50 per cent ownership position in a joint venture” in the future. Here’s more on a dramatic weekend for TikTok users.

3. Investors in hedge funds have paid out almost half of their profits in fees since the early days of the industry more than half a century ago, new data shows. The figures, which were compiled by LCH Investments and date back to 1969, show how the scale of fees raked in by managers has soared as the industry matured. Read more of the research findings.

4. Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, has played down concerns that Donald Trump will usher in a long period of economic turmoil in Asia, arguing that after an “initial shock” the global trading system will continue as before. He cautioned, however, that it was too soon to say whether Trump would be easier to work with than Joe Biden. Here’s the full interview.

5. The total value of a memecoin backed by Donald Trump soared to more than $14bn over the weekend, before sinking following the launch of a rival coin by his wife Melania. Since the launch of $TRUMP on Friday evening, the coin soared from $6 to a peak of $75 making the value of the coins in circulation worth more than $14bn. But on Sunday, the president-elect’s wife announced the launch of a rival memecoin, $MELANIA.

Today’s big read

The dispute between Elon Musk, one of Donald Trump’s closest advisers and the world’s richest man, and his former strategist Steve Bannon over so-called H-1B visas highlights a crucial and complicated reality for the incoming president. While his support has grown among the American public he now has a much more diverse coalition to satisfy. Can Trump handle the new Republican factions?

We’re also reading and listening to . . . 

• Mohamed El-Erian: A dispersion of economic outcomes at home and abroad risks derailing Trump’s promising initiatives.

• The Economics Show🎧: Alan Beattie talks to Doug Irwin, economics professor at Dartmouth College, about what Donald Trump wants on trade.

• What is the future of the corporate HQ? Management Editor Anjli Raval spoke to analysts and industry executives for insights into the future of office space.

• Technology: Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan tells Tim Bradshaw how he intends to capitalise on the trend for “sovereign” data centres.

Chart of the day

Global exchange traded fund flows hit a record $1.5tn last year, obliterating the previous full-year record of $1.2tn set in 2021. Equity and fixed income funds saw record inflows, highlighting the switch away from the century-old mutual fund format to the lower cost and greater transparency of ETFs. Here are some of the winners from the growing demand for ETFs.

Take a break from the news . . . 

Edward Luce sat down with the presidential biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin in Boston’s Quin House to discuss tech titans, what Trump could learn from Lincoln and why she remains optimistic about America.