Trump and dump

The US, Israel, Palestine, Iran, Syria, and South Korea.

Capitol in Winter, Bertha Jaques, early 20th century, etching, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC.

The five things you need to know today:

• UNITED STATES: Trump’s first day will be an exercise in mass distraction.

• ISRAEL. PALESTINE. Netanyahu welcomes the release of three hostages, and three ministers.

• IRAN. Two judges are assassinated as talk of regime change builds.

• SYRIA. Washington’s departure may open a backdoor for Moscow.

• SOUTH KOREA. The storming of a courthouse will deepen investor misgivings.

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UNITED STATES. Snow job

Trump’s first day will be an exercise in mass distraction.

Donald Trump told supporters Sunday it would be the "biggest first week" in history. TikTok returned, with the platform crediting Trump's intervention. Trump launched a ‘memecoin’ Friday, which quickly rallied to $50 billion in paper value.

INTELLIGENCE. The value of $TRUMP, now exceeding all the president-elect’s other enterprises, would be greater if it weren’t for the subsequent launch of $MELANIA, which stole much of the froth. What the SEC would in normal times have called a pump-and-dump scheme is just one of dozens of head-spinning acts promised over the coming days. As in his first term, Trump aims to flood the zone with noise as more serious or damaging matters go unnoticed.

FOR BUSINESS. With snow keeping his rallies and inauguration indoors, crowd sizes won’t dominate headlines, but the next few days will still be challenging to parse. This may give opportunities for traders, but firms and governments may need to wait weeks for the dust to settle. Their risk is that key signals, including for a potential fiscal cliff, could be missed. Between 50 and 200 executive orders are expected to be signed Monday. A visit to China is in the offing.

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ISRAEL. PALESTINE. Released

Netanyahu welcomes the release of three hostages, and three ministers.

Three Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged Sunday in the first part of a Gaza ceasefire deal. Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other Otzma Yehudit ministers resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu's seven-party government.

INTELLIGENCE. The coalition’s Knesset majority will narrow from 68 to 62 of 120 seats, but the door is open for Ben-Gvir to return, and