Last week, London signed a $4.6 billion deal to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while announcing a deal that will allow the U.K. to lease the strategic air base on Diego Garcia for £101m a year for “at least the next century,” which is also used by the U.S.
Tag: United Kingdom
U.K. NOW OWNS MORE U.S. TREASURY SECURITIES THAN CHINA
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.
U.K. WANTS TO ‘PILE PRESSURE’ ON PUTIN WITH £450M IN NEW WEAPONS FOR UKRAINE
The United Kingdom announced last week that it will provide Ukraine with an additional £450 million to “pile pressure” on the Kremlin as the war drags on with no end in sight.
U.K. WANTS MULTILATERAL FUND IN EUROPE TO PURCHASE MILITARY EQUIPMENT
The United Kingdom is trying to sell a proposal that would get a “coalition of the willing” European countries to develop a “supranational institution” that will allow members to purchase weapons quickly and for a significant discount as these allies look to beef up their militaries without breaking the bank.
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. HEADING FOR “DEBT DEATH SPIRAL”
The U.K. is speeding toward a “debt death spiral,” in which the government will have to borrow more and more money to pay interest on the national debt, Ray Dalio, billionaire founder of the Bridgewater Associates hedge fund, said in a Financial Times interview.
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.
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.”
U.K., U.S. CONSUMERS CUT SPENDING IN APRIL
“Spending fatigue” has set in on both sides of the Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal reported, as shoppers in the U.K. spent 2.3 percent less in April than in March, the National Bureau for Statistics reported.