Defense contractor Anduril, which specializes in making drones, has closed a $5-billion funding round that values the nine-year-old company at $61 billion, about double its most recent valuation of just over $30 billion last June, the Financial Times reported.
The Iran War’s depletion of U.S. military weaponry is only the latest reason why institutional investors are liking the defense industry.
U.S. retailers sold 1.6 percent more goods in March, year over year, but only 0.5 percent more in April as consumers grappled with soaring gasoline prices and rising costs across the economy.
The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, shot up to 6 percent last month, a signal of how sharply the Iran War has raised the cost of making and moving products.
Retail prices inflated by 3.8 percent in April, year on year, driven by the Iran War’s energy price shock that is now working its way throughout the U.S. economy.
The economy is seeing a widening wave of closures, bankruptcies, and downsizing as companies respond to soft demand and tightening margins.
Jobless claims remain low and unemployment is holding near 4.3 percent but companies aren’t hiring and layoffs tied to AI restructuring and cost cutting are increasing, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Again, as we have detailed and continue to detail by the pure facts and indisputable data, the illegal Iran War launched on 28 February by just two politicians – President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – has inflicted severe socioeconomic and geopolitical damage across the globe.
The three major U.S. stock indexes dove on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 500 points.
Since 28 February when the Iran War began, Americans have spent $45 billion more on gasoline and diesel fuel than they would have if fuel prices had remained at pre-war levels, according to data from the U.S. government and the Oil Price Information Service.