UAE and EU hold first formal talks on trade deal
EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic tells The National that he is 'optimistic' about the scale of the prospective agreement
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The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Nuclear missile build up as Starmer spends billions more on defence
Britain is to announce billions more spending in defence to show its rivals that it is serious about a pledge to get the country ready for full-scale war with new missiles, nuclear platforms and a boost to troop numbers. Keir Starmer, the prime minister, is to announce from the docks of a shipyard that the Strategic Defence Review calls for an expansion of the nuclear deterrent. Writing 24 hours earlier in a newspaper, he said war-fighting readiness was overriding priority. "It's time to flood the zone with new initiatives and new investments," he wrote. "It's time to bring together a whole-of- society effort to keep Britain safe.' John Healey, the defence secretary, said on Sunday that he had no doubt that defence spending would rise to 3 per cent of GDP in the foreseeable future, implying an extra £17bn in the budget. The SDR was led by former Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson, a former Labour statesman, and makes 62 recommendations in its 150 pages. Central to the plans are the construction of up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines, as well as investment of £15 billion in the nuclear missile warheads. While the SDR has been revised several times in recent months, its main themes are rearmament and "getting the armed forces to a stage where it would be ready to fight a war". Other immediate drives by the government include £6bn for new weapons, including £1.5bn for new production lines for weapons. When the government asserts that Russia is mounting digital attacks on the UK everyday and other states, such as Iran pose incessant dangers there is a new offensive strategy. This means setting up a new cyber command and investing £1 billion in digital capabilities Other announcements: – Boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and making sure there is capacity to scale up production if needed in a crisis or war – Buying up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons in a move due to support 800 defence jobs – More than £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing. The £15 billion investment into the warhead programme will back the government's commitments to maintain the continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent, build a new fleet of Dreadnought submarines and deliver all future upgrades. 'With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad,' Mr Healey will say on Monday. From the late 2030s, the fleet of up to 12 SSN-Aukus conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will replace seven astute class attack submarines the UK is due to start operating. The build up is part of a partnership with Australia and the US that has promised a global arc of security between the three allies. Mr Robertson, warns that Britain is entering "a new era of threat" as drones and artificial intelligence transform modern warfare. The document also describes the "immediate and pressing" danger posed by Russia, as well as urging the government to focus on the dangers emanating from China, Iran and North Korea. Robertson has described the four countries as a "deadly quartet" that were "increasingly working together".
Khaleej Times
11 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Wall St Week Ahead: Jobs data, tax bill, trade on tap for rebounding US stocks
Key US economic data, developments with federal tax-and-spending legislation and twists and turns on trade all are poised to influence equities in the coming week, with the US market closing in on record highs. The SP 500 ended on Friday with a weekly gain and less than 4% from its February all-time high. The benchmark index rose about 6.2% in May, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 9.6%, with both indexes tallying their biggest monthly increases since November 2023. Investors at the end of the week were grappling with implications from legal rulings involving efforts to block most of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Trump's trade war has whipsawed global markets for weeks on concerns about economic fallout. The coming week also brings a raft of economic and labor market data, headlined by the monthly U.S. employment report out on Friday. "Now that we're back up here not all that far from the record high, I think the hard data needs to hold in better than the market expects to really advance from here," said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The employment report for May is expected to show an increase of 130,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll of economists, which would be a step down from growth of 177,000 the prior month. Investors have been eager to learn how Trump's tariffs may be rippling through the economy, especially in the wake of his April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement of sweeping levies on imports. The May data represents a full month of "how businesses have been handling some of the tariff uncertainty and some of the pressures in the market," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. Still, an overly strong employment report, such as growth of over 200,000 jobs, might be viewed warily by the market because it could delay interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp. Investors have reduced bets in recent weeks on the amount of expected Fed easing this year, with about two rate cuts priced in by December, according to LSEG data. Minutes of their latest meeting released this week showed Fed officials acknowledged they could face "difficult tradeoffs" in coming months with rising inflation alongside rising unemployment. Fiscal legislation in Washington will also be in focus. The Senate will start considering a tax-and-spending bill passed earlier this month by the House of Representatives. Trump said this week he plans to negotiate aspects of the "big, beautiful" tax bill, a day after billionaire Elon Musk said the bill detracts from efforts to reduce the US budget deficit. The bill, which will add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, has focused attention on the impact of increasing deficits on the Treasury market. Rising bond yields have pressured stocks in recent weeks. The shifting tariff backdrop also appeared likely to influence asset prices. Equities rebounded in recent weeks after Trump eased his harshest tariffs, but the situation remains in flux as Washington negotiates with trading partners. On Thursday, for instance, stocks rose early the session after a U.S. trade court blocked many of Trump's tariffs, but gains faded during the session. Later, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs, further muddying the backdrop. "There's initial excitement and then the reality set in that this is just another step in this process and it really hasn't clarified very much," Kuby said.
Khaleej Times
12 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
No Mbappe, no problem as Luis Enrique completes PSG transformation with a bang
When Luis Enrique claimed in early 2024 that Paris St Germain would be better without Kylian Mbappe, many dismissed it as arrogance or deflection. Fifteen months later, after PSG's first Champions League triumph — a jaw-dropping 5-0 steamrolling of Inter Milan in Saturday's final in Munich — the Spanish coach's bold prediction looks less like provocation and more like prophecy. The victory marked the culmination of a profound transformation, from a club defined by star power to one shaped by structure, tactical clarity and collective belief. Luis Enrique's second season at the helm has delivered what eluded his predecessors — not just a European title, but a new identity for PSG with the youngest squad in the last 16 of the competition, featuring French teenager Desire Doue, who made a decisive impact in Saturday's final. Mbappe's departure to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024 was expected to leave a void as the striker had been the club's leading scorer for six consecutive seasons and a global face of their ambition. Without him, pundits questioned whether PSG could remain relevant at the highest level of European competition. They eventually became the second French club to win the European Cup after Olympique de Marseille in 1993. Early results this season seemed to confirm those doubts. The team managed only one win in their first five Champions League group-stage matches, falling to 26th place out of 36 in the league-phase standings. Key meeting A 1-0 loss at Bayern Munich in November left the team on the brink of early elimination and Luis Enrique facing intense criticism for his tactical decisions and squad selections. "You cannot understand," he then quipped at a reporter questioning his tactics and method. Behind the scenes, Luis Enrique stayed resolute. He said he had gathered the players and staff for a key internal meeting. 'We are one of the best teams in Europe,' he insisted, explaining the problem was not talent, but execution. The coach demanded an immediate improvement in their intensity, even threatening to resign if the standard in training didn't improve. In January, PSG hosted Manchester City in a must-win clash and found themselves 2-0 down. What followed was a stunning 4-2 comeback in 30 minutes that transformed the club's season and became a symbolic turning point. From that point on, PSG were nearly flawless. A 4-1 win in Stuttgart secured progression, followed by knockout victories over Brest, Liverpool (on penalties at Anfield), Aston Villa, and Arsenal. Built to last Unlike in recent years, the team did not buckle under pressure, holding firm in hostile environments and playing with an authority and self-belief that had long evaded the club in Europe. Ousmane Dembele had his best season, scoring 32 goals in all competitions while Doue became a new star for the club, setting up one and scoring two in a stunningly one-sided final. Gianluigi Donnarumma, once a point of weakness, produced decisive saves throughout the campaign and January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added versatility and energy to a system that rewarded effort over ego. Discipline, long elusive at PSG, has become a hallmark. When Dembele was late to training ahead of a Champions League match at Arsenal, Luis Enrique left him out of the squad. PSG lost 2-0, but the coach's authority was affirmed. 'That was my best decision of the season,' he later said. And Dembele returned transformed into a formidable forward after years spent being a poster boy for unfulfilled potential. Saturday's final showcased everything Luis Enrique had instilled. PSG showed control, confidence and their high pressing proved too much to handle for Inter. The title ends a 14-year wait for Qatar Sports Investments, who bought the club in 2011 with the stated aim of dominating Europe. That dream is now reality — not with a galaxy of stars, but with a system built to last. Luis Enrique did not just win the Champions League. He reshaped Paris St Germain into something new and as he once claimed, something better.
