Evening Briefing: Europe

Jittery investors pushed gold past $3,000 an ounce for the first time as threats of a US trade war rattled markets and sent money managers in search of a safe haven.

The move through the psychological $3,000 level drives home gold’s centuries-old role as a store of value in turbulent times and as a gauge of fear in markets. It follows just hours after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned that an escalating dispute over trade levies kicked off by US President Donald Trump could damage the global economy.

Jumps in the gold price typically track broader economic and political stress. The metal breached the $1,000 an ounce mark in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and passed $2,000 during the Covid pandemic. This upward move follows a month after investors began repatriating crate-loads of the precious metal back to New York amid rising concerns over global market disruptions. —Jonathan Tirone

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German conservative leader Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Green party on a €500 billion ($545 billion) debt-funded package for defense, infrastructure and climate spending. While the deal still needs to be voted through, it can now overcome parliamentary roadblocks earlier erected by the Greens.

NATO’s chief said the transatlantic alliance should restore relations with Russia once the fighting ends in Ukraine. Secretary General Mark Rutte told us in an interview that a step-by-step normalization would be possible while also stressing “we are absolutely not there yet.” He made the comments after the European Union’s foreign policy chief suggested that friction between the US and EU has Chinese leaders “laughing” at the bloc.

It’s an end of an era for US stock exceptionalism. Investors told our Markets Live Pulse survey that they’ve become more bullish on US Treasuries than equities for the first time in at least three years. The findings highlight the sea change in attitudes since the so-called Trump Trade fueled a rally in stocks amid expectations of ever-stronger growth and persistent demand for US assets. That has steadily unwound as Trump wielded tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China and Europe, igniting a trade war and fueling a stock-market sell off.

Tesla was dumped by the Danish pension fund AkademikerPension, which cited the electric carmaker’s record on workers’ rights, as well as the growing risks posed by company founder Elon Musk. The fund, which oversees more than $20 billion of assets, is selling its remaining Tesla shares and placing the company on its exclusion list. The move follows a dramatic plunge in the carmaker’s European sales after Musk ramped up his political activism in the Trump administration.

Manchester United’s surprise announcement this week of plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium was the easy bit. Now it needs to find the money. Bankers are debating how difficult it might be to borrow the £2 billion ($2.6 billion) needed to build the giant venue. Lenders told us they could provide between £1 billion to £1.5 billion of debt funding.

Manchester United plans to build a new 100,000-seat stadium next to its existing site. Source: Foster+Partners

Millionaire earners are increasing in Europe on the back of a boom in dealmaking and trading among bankers. The number of Deutsche Bank employees making more than €1 million ($1.1 million) last year shot up by 28% to 647, with one employee making as much as €18 million. At Spanish rival Banco Santander, the number of seven-figure earners increased 17% to 418 following an investment banking hiring spree.

Britain’s most bike-friendly town is a 716-acre lakeside development being built on a former RAF base outside the UK city of Cambridge. Our colleagues at CityLab write the new town of Waterbeach is rising on wetlands that were reclaimed by Dutch engineers in the 1600s. And like many places in Holland, its design and planning puts people before cars.

A bike bridge in Waterbeach is part of the town’s extensive network of cycling infrastructure. Photographer: Urban and Civic

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Avert your eyes, long-term planners: we’re here to tell the rest of you that it’s not too late to plan a spring break trip. In fact, ’tis the season for last-minute travel, as patience for dreary weather starts to lapse and longer days leave us pining for warmer ones.

The Six Best Places to Travel This Spring, From the Caribbean to Spain

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