Latest news with #militaryspending
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
The Anticorruption Watchdogs at the Center of Protests Against Zelensky
Thousands of people in Ukraine for a second night turned out to protest President Volodymyr Zelensky's bid to control the country's anticorruption agencies, even as he promised to walk back some of the policies that had touched off the street action. The surge of anger, with protesters toting profanity-laced signs directed at Mr. Zelensky and his top advisers, underscores the pivotal role of those watchdog agencies in Ukraine's politics and the sensitive issues they investigate. None are more fraught than alleged schemes to embezzle from military budgets. Military spending in Ukraine is drawn from the country's tax revenues and is not tied to the flow of weaponry donated by Western allies. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the anticorruption agencies have scrutinized such spending, Balazs Jarabik, a former European Union diplomat and founder of Minority Report, a political risk consultancy, said in an interview. And over the more than three years of the war, criminal cases have sprung from those investigations, enraging Ukrainians. On Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky signed into law a bill giving Ukraine's prosecutor general — who is approved by Parliament, where Mr. Zelensky's party holds a majority — new power over the two agencies, the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Far From Russia's Aggression, Spaniards Are Reluctant to Spend Big on Security
María del Carmen Abascal was already frustrated over the lack of affordable housing in Spain, where rising rent could force her out of the apartment in Madrid she has lived in for 69 years. Then she heard about the government's plans to increase military spending this year by more than $12 billion. And if NATO had its way, it would be a lot more. 'They should put that money into social spending, in housing, in everything that people in Spain need,' Ms. Abascal said, her lips pursed indignantly during a recent interview in one of the last working-class neighborhoods in central Madrid, where housing prices are skyrocketing. Perhaps nowhere in Europe has the tug of war between spending more for domestic priorities or for defense so vexed a government than in Spain. Torn between a looming Russian threat to Europe and housing, health care and education needs, Spain has tried to split the difference. It was the only country in the alliance that openly refused to agree last month to spend up to 5 percent of its gross domestic product over the next decade on defense, as President Trump demands. The drastic spending increase, which the rest of NATO's 32 member countries committed to, would ease Europe's dependence on the United States for security. But for Spain, it would mean more than doubling its annual defense budget to an estimated $73.8 billion, draining funding for social programs. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thales raises 2025 sales growth forecast on strong defence demand
(Reuters) -French defence and aerospace group Thales raised its 2025 sales growth forecast on Wednesday after posting higher first-half sales and profit amid higher military spending in Europe. Europe's largest defence electronics firm also said its widely watched adjusted operating profit rose 12.7% on a comparable basis to 1.25 billion euros, fractionally above market forecasts, led by the Aerospace and Defence units. The company, whose portfolio spans fighter radars to seat-back screens for airlines, now expects 2025 sales growth of between 6% and 7% instead of the 5% to 6% it had forecast previously, pointing to full-year revenue between 21.8 billion euros ($25.62 billion) and 22 billion euros. Thales, partially owned by the French state, said sales rose 8.1% on a like-for-like basis to 10.27 billion euros in the first half, while new orders fell 4% to 10.35 billion due to a tough comparison with last year's surge in big-ticket deals. Revenues were slightly lower than expected, though orders came in ahead of expectations. Analysts had on average been forecasting half-year sales of 10.35 billion euros and 9.02 billion euros of fresh orders, as well as an adjusted operating profit of 1.22 billion euros, according to a company-compiled consensus. The increase in sales was mostly driven by defence and avionics activities, CEO Patrice Caine told reporters. 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
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Thales raises 2025 sales growth forecast on strong defence demand
July 23 (Reuters) - French defence and aerospace group Thales ( opens new tab raised its 2025 sales growth forecast on Wednesday after posting higher first-half sales and profit amid higher military spending in Europe. Europe's largest defence electronics firm also said its widely watched adjusted operating profit rose 12.7% on a comparable basis to 1.25 billion euros, fractionally above market forecasts, led by the Aerospace and Defence units. The company, whose portfolio spans fighter radars to seat-back screens for airlines, now expects 2025 sales growth of between 6% and 7% instead of the 5% to 6% it had forecast previously, pointing to full-year revenue between 21.8 billion euros ($25.62 billion) and 22 billion euros. Thales, partially owned by the French state, said sales rose 8.1% on a like-for-like basis to 10.27 billion euros in the first half, while new orders fell 4% to 10.35 billion due to a tough comparison with last year's surge in big-ticket deals. Revenues were slightly lower than expected, though orders came in ahead of expectations. Analysts had on average been forecasting half-year sales of 10.35 billion euros and 9.02 billion euros of fresh orders, as well as an adjusted operating profit of 1.22 billion euros, according to a company-compiled consensus. The increase in sales was mostly driven by defence and avionics activities, CEO Patrice Caine told reporters. Thales confirmed that it expects revenues to exceed new orders this year and its adjusted operating margin to reach between 12.2% and 12.4% for the full year. The Paris-based company's shares have risen about 78% so far this year, as military spending soars in Europe in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and signs the region will need to shoulder more responsibility for its own defence. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged earlier this month to double defence spending by 2027, three years ahead of the original 2030 target. Macron's move 'clearly supports business momentum,' Caine said, noting that accelerating investment under France's defence budget would fuel growth in the group's operating performance. Thales is also one of many European companies watching for any impact of trade tensions, particularly on civil businesses. CFO Pascal Bouchiat said U.S. tariffs would have a limited operational impact, however, estimating a hit of "several tens of millions of euros" in 2025 if 10% reciprocal duties were imposed between the U.S. and Europe. More than half of Thales' revenue comes from defence, which is exempt from such duties, he added, noting that the group's 'multi-domestic' structure limits cross-border flows. The group's tariff exposure involves aerospace repairs between Europe and the U.S. and bank card exports from Mexico to the U.S., Bouchiat said. "We are relatively well protected (from tariffs). We can benefit from alternative import schemes, namely temporary imports, which allow us to significantly reduce import tariffs in the United States". The CFO added that the group could shift bank cards production from its Mexican plant to other facilities, such as Singapore, to serve the U.S. market if tariffs on Mexico rose sharply. ($1 = 0.8508 euros)
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Warns Aid Cutbacks Will Fall Heavily on Women, Children
The UK's own assessment of its decision to slash overseas aid warns that it will harm women, children and people with disabilities in Africa. The evaluation was included in a report Tuesday that detailed which specific development programs would be cut after Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for reducing such aid from 0.5% of the UK's economy to 0.3% to help cover increase military spending.
