European stocks poised to open lower despite easing U.S.-China tensions
Good morning from London.
European stock markets are expected to open lower, paring some of the gains seen earlier this week after the U.S. and China agreed to a trade truce.
Futures point to the Stoxx Europe 600 , Germany's DAX and the French CAC 40 all opening 0.2% lower, while the FTSE 100 is slated to shed 0.3%.
Investors are looking ahead to earnings updates from Burberry , TUI , Imperial Brands , Experian , Compass Group , Telefonica and EON .
— Chloe Taylor
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Aldi's 8 Biggest Scandals Of All Time
Despite winning over consumers all over the world with its affordable products and hidden gem snacks, Aldi has made some not-so-popular choices, like its infamously controversial grocery cart system, and the company is also no stranger to scandal. Whether you're a loyal shopper or just here for the tea, you may want to check out the wild reasons Aldi has made headlines that have nothing to do with its deals and low prices. The company has faced a number of lawsuits, ranging from wage disputes with former employees to food safety concerns for undisclosed ingredients in its products; in 2023, it found itself in the middle of a $10 million class action lawsuit for mislabeling its products. Not to mention, it found itself at the center of a drug smuggling operation more than once. Who knew a grocery store that boasts such a scaled-back shopping experience could be involved in so much drama? From contaminated food to exploding turkey burgers, here are some of the most fascinating scandals that Aldi has been involved in over the years. Read more: 11 Foods You Might Want To Avoid Buying At Aldi One of Aldi's most viral scandals occurred in early 2013 when it was revealed that some of its beef products actually contained undisclosed horse meat. The grocer discovered as much as 100% horse meat in some of its frozen beef products during routine random testing. The impacted products were frozen lasagna and frozen spaghetti bolognese from the brand Today's Special, and the company quickly pulled them from the shelves as a food safety precaution. Aldi traced the supply chain and connected the contamination issue to French supplier Comigel, a large French food processing company that also supplied contaminated beef products to other popular brands like Findus. The horse meat products were delivered to grocery stores in France, Britain, and Sweden. A spokesperson for Aldi explained that they were equally as disappointed in the contamination from the French supplier as their consumers. Unfortunately, it was unclear whether the "meat mixup" was purposeful or negligent on the part of the supplier. In 2019, Aldi faced another shocking food scandal when hundreds of kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in banana crates delivered to 6 Aldi store locations in Germany, as well as a warehouse. Aldi employees discovered the haul and notified local officials, who separated and secured the crates for a full investigation. State police indicated that the stash was likely from Latin America and amounted to a value of about $28 million, making it potentially the largest haul of cocaine ever found in northern Germany. However, this was not the first time, or even the second time that cocaine had been smuggled into Aldi grocery stores. There were actually two other incidents in which millions of dollars worth of drugs had been stashed in fruit and other products. In one case in 2015, about $12.5 million worth of cocaine was found in banana crates that had been shipped to Berlin as well. Police speculated that these shipments arrived at Aldi grocery stores by mistake. In 2019, the discount grocery store was accused of not paying California employees their earned wages. Former Aldi grocery store employees Jeree Gant and Jennifer Lacey-Salas each filed a class action lawsuit against the company, alleging that they (along with other employees) were not granted full payment for all the hours they worked during their employment. Specifically, the company did not pay the employees overtime or compensate for business-related expenses, despite them having been earned. The California class action suit also alleged that the company broke several other laws based on the California labor code, including not giving sufficient meal and rest breaks. Jeree Gant and Jennifer Lacey-Salas filed the suits on behalf of more than 2,000 Aldi employees who worked across various California store locations. Aldi quickly offered a $2 million settlement in response to the lawsuit. In a tragic incident just before Christmas in 2017, an Aldi employee was fatally stabbed in a revenge act during her shift at the grocery store. 30-year-old Jodie Willsher was stabbed by 44-year-old Neville John Hord in front of shoppers and fellow employees at the Aldi store where she worked in the U.K.'s North Yorkshire Hord was a former boyfriend of Willsher's mother, and the murder was an act of revenge, according to prosecutor Peter Moulston QC. 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How drones & AI are changing the defense sector & warfare
The growing frequency of wartime drone attacks is causing a shift in the nature of both the defense sector and modern warfare. Tony Bancroft, Gabelli Funds portfolio manager, joins Asking for a Trend with Josh Lipton to discuss the outlook for the use of drone technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation in warfare. Bancroft also shares some of his top stock picks in the defense sector, including parts-makers like Textron (TXT), Honeywell (HON), L3Harris (LHX), and Ducommun (DCO). To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here. There's a shift on the horizon in modern warfare. Ukraine recently dealt a blow to several Russian air bases with the use of drone attacks. As of February 2025, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles account for 60 to 70% of damaged and destroyed Russian systems. That's according to the Royal United Services Institute. For more on the changes to modern warfare and ripple effects for the defense sector, we have Gubelli Funds portfolio manager Tony Bancroft. Tony, it is always good to see you and the reason, of course, Tony, you are the perfect guest for this segment, is not only are you well-known analyst, you are in fact Lieutenant Colonel, uh, Tony Bancroft, United States Marine Corps. So, we we are lucky to have you. And I want to start, Tony, with those reports we saw, uh, Ukraine's really unprecedented drone operation striking deep inside Russian territory. When you saw that, Tony, when you saw those reports, what was your reaction? Thanks, Josh. Always great to be back. And you know, I think, you know, Ukraine, uh, one-upped, um, Israel on on next, uh, next level next generation, uh, warfare and you know, the US Department of Defense has taken notes, uh, and this is how things are going to be going, uh, going forward. Uh, you're going to see a lot of, uh, asymmetric warfare, obviously a lot of use of of drones and and, uh, you know, artificial intelligence and, um, cyber, you know, cyber attacks, uh, you name it. Uh, however you can imagine it is going to be how it's going to be done. And you know, that was just sort of a case in point the fact that, you know, 117, you know, how many or $1,000 drones took out a third of the, uh, third, second or third largest air forces' um, uh, strategic bomber capability is is legitimate. So, you're going to see drones, you know, be be a lot of DOD and European spending going forward. I think right now it's about 15 billion in the US DOD budget, um, and it's probably going to go to 25 billion as expected about by 2030 and and doubling that almost in 2035. So I think we we we like the industry, we like the, uh, companies that are going to supply parts to them and, uh, we're we're definitely, you know, bullish on it. What are some of those companies, Tony? Yeah, you know, we we sort of like the the parts maker. I mean, you know, I know there's a lot of drone suppliers out there but, uh, you know, companies like, um, Textron and Honeywell and L3 Harris, um, Ducommun, uh, all make, you know, all sort of make these parts that go into all these, you know, these systems that are obviously, you know, they're pretty, you know, they're pretty, uh, intricate, uh, high technology systems that need certain structures and certain, uh, electronics in them and we sort of like those those guys. And they're diversified as well because they're on multiple programs and they're also on the commercial side. And, uh, they're they're good cash flow businesses with, you know, long secular tailwinds. I have to ask you a broader question, maybe, you know, as as you talk about how you you think maybe the the future battlefield changes and yes, it'll still involve tanks and fighter jets and battleships that more increasingly rely on AI and autonomous systems. Is the US well prepared for that shift, Tony, in your opinion? You know, I think they are. I think the US is actually, um, I I I I I think sometimes, you know, the the narrative is that the US is is fighting the last battle and and and and it's somewhat true. And that's somewhat true always when you talk about, you know, warfare. I'm sure all the way back to to Sun Tzu and and you name it. Uh, but the US is pretty capable and the weapon systems we have are are are lethal and you know, we're still by far the largest drone builder in the world. I mean there's, you know, as far as for military drones. Um, you know, uh, the US is is the most dominant. Always have been and I think will we will continue to be. And we'll we'll we'll sort of we'll pair that with, uh, you know, with our with our manned systems that are able to control it. You know, a lot of this is going to come down to as as we go further into it, you know, who is going to be able to essentially out hack who or who is going to be able to jam out jam who. And at some point you're probably going to need, you are going to need some type of, uh, manned manned system that can be closest, you know, the node they would they would call it, be closest to, uh, you know, the the autonomous systems or or things that are are capable of being jammed. And you're you're going to need the systems that the US has like the F-35 along with our, you know, the collaborative, uh, collaborative combat aircraft and other and other systems. There's a lot that we have and our long-range fires are by far dominant, you know, when when it comes to, um, being able to reach out and touch somebody. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
