In March, China continued reducing its portfolio of U.S. treasury securities, dropping it behind the U.K. as the largest foreign owner of U.S. debt.
Tag: UK
U.K., EUROPE AIMS TO INCREASE MILITARY SPENDING AS TRUMP LOOKS TO END WAR IN UKRAINE
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced last week that London will increase its defense spending by 0.2 percent to 2.5 percent of its GDP, or about $17 billion, citing what he sees as the growing threat from Russia.
U.K. INFLATION TICKS DOWN, BOOSTING CHANCES OF INTEREST RATE CUT
In December, inflation in the U.K. eased back to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent in November, the Office for National Statistics reported.
U.K. GOVERNMENT’S BORROWING COST REACHES 27-YEAR HIGH
On 7 January, the interest rate the British government offered on £2.25 billion in 30-year bonds climbed to 5.2 percent, the highest since 1998.
TOP TREND 2025: DRAGFLATION
Britain’s economy failed to grow in 2024’s third quarter, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has estimated, and the Bank of England projects that the GDP remained flat in the year’s final three months.
U.K. OPENS LAB TO FIND AND COUNTER AI SECURITY THREATS
Britain has established the Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) to safeguard the nation and its allies against AI-based cybersecurity threats in what officials called an “AI arms race.”
WWII ENEMIES UNITE: GERMANY’S RHEINMETALL TO PRODUCE GUN BARRELS IN THE UK
What a difference a few decades make. Rheinmetall, Germany’s behemoth arms maker, announced last week that it will begin the production of gun barrels in the U.K. as part of a new defense agreement between London and Berlin—Europe’s two top military spenders.
GERMANY AND U.K., ECONOMIC BLUES
In Germany, the highly-regarded ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment plunged from 19.2 in August to 3.6 in September. Analysts had expected a reading of 15.5.
U.K. SHOWS OFF NEW “DRAGONFIRE” LASER WEAPON
The wars around the world are getting expensive. Using a million-dollar missile to shoot down a million-dollar drone a few dozen times a day in Israel, Ukraine, or the Red Sea begins to add up.
U.K. ENTERS TECHNICAL RECESSION
The U.K.’s economy contracted 0.3 percent in last year’s final quarter, which followed a 0.1-percent decrease in the second quarter, putting the nation into a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of economic shrinkage.