Finance news

Defense: New fund: half a billion euros for Europe's defense start-ups

The German investor Earlybird is launching a new defense fund together with the financial arm of Axa. It is a rather unusual cooperation for Germany and France.

Drones hit Moscow oil refinery as Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes

Ukrainian drones hit Moscow’s oil refinery for the second time this week while Russia fired missiles into Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelensky sought support from the US and Europe to reach a peace deal. Moscow downed over five dozen drones on Thursday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ‌said on Telegram, and a Reuters witness saw flames and plumes of smoke over the southeastern district of Kapotnya where the Moscow refinery is located. “Air defence forces continue to repel a massive attack. Several drones

Thinking on this 4-block quant setup for the long term (30+ years). 1.27x Exposure.

The nominal split is: 30% QQQ / 30% GDE / 20% PPA / 20% AVDV. The cool part here is the real effective exposure is ~127%. It uses GDE (Wisdomtree efficient gold), which basically holds 90% SPY and 90% gold futures using T-Bills (And stock) as collateral. So you get leverage without paying broker margin rates or risking a forced account liquidation (you'd need like an immediate -80% drop on both gold and SPY on the same day to wreck the collateral). I backtested this from 1988 to 2025 using proxi

National security: Dangerous naivety: How Germany is co-financing China's cyber armament

The federal government is funding a leading center for cybersecurity research. But now there is a serious suspicion: Could it be an elite factory for Chinese military researchers?

Japan's big banks weigh financing arms makers in break with past

Sharp defense satellite receivers offer both low and geostationary links

Japan failed to build its own airliner. Now it’s turning to Boeing

Japan’s push to build its own civil aviation sector and stay competitive in the technology race against China could receive a boost from a potential partnership with American aircraft giant Boeing. The country is already a key Boeing partner, possesses advanced manufacturing technologies and could benefit from a captive domestic market – factors that analysts say make its plan to develop a commercial aircraft viable, as it seeks to rebound from the failed SpaceJet airliner programme. “It’s what.

Defense contractors would be barred from buying back their stock in bill approved by Senate panel

A bill the Senate Armed Services Committee approved would prevent defense contractors from buying back their stock without Pentagon approval.

Japan's top defense contractor branches out into small interceptor drones

A European nation wants to buy Japan's defense equipment, Koizumi says

Air Force picks General Atomics, Anduril to build first CCA drone wingmen

Anduril, ShieldAI and Collins have been tapped to develop the autonomy system for the collaborative combat aircraft.

Read the 14-point memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran

The 14-point memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran leaves contentious issues between the countries unresolved.

Luigi Mangione plans psychiatric defence at CEO murder trial

⁠Luigi Mangione, the man accused of ⁠gunning down a health insurance executive in Manhattan, plans to argue at his murder trial that he was undergoing an extreme mental health crisis at the time of the alleged killing, a judge revealed at a hearing on Wednesday. The strategy poses ‌steep legal hurdles but could lead to a jury convicting Mangione of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which carries significantly lighter sentences. Mangione, who appeared in court in a dark suit and white shirt, is..

How Honeywell Aerospace plans to tap into the global CCA market

Honeywell Aerospace executive Matthew Milas lays out Honeywell’s view on CCAs as a key platform-agnostic supplier.

Congress seeks to limit US Navy vessels built in foreign shipyards

The Senate Armed Services Committee seeks to strip the waiver authority granted to the president to approve offshore ship construction.

Europe rallies around tough new China strategy ahead of key summit

From free marketeers to long-term interventionists, EU countries of all stripes are converging on the need for urgent action to prevent a Chinese-driven European deindustrialisation ahead of a key summit in Brussels, multiple sources said on Wednesday. A broad coalition of members now support the development of a tough new trade strategy that could involve multiple new instruments and a more rapid-fire, strategic use of existing weapons. One of the tools could be modelled on US President Donald.

Defense: Germany and Poland seal security pact

Both countries want to work more closely together in defense and armaments policy. This security policy cooperation is not well received everywhere in Poland.

Army to release proposal requests for ISV-Heavy late this year: Official

The service is looking to “accelerate” the delivery timeline of the ISV-Heavy, a top Army acquisition official told lawmakers.

Aselsan lands $900M deal to help Turkey build Steel Dome air defense systems

Steel Dome, or Celik Kubbe, is a Turkish layered air defense project akin to the US Golden Dome effort, or Israel’s various layered systems.

35 years of Neighborhood Treaty: Germany and Poland conclude military agreement

Germany and Poland have long been good neighbors across the Oder and Neisse rivers. Joint trade is booming. But given the global situation, military cooperation is also becoming more important.

Portfolio guidance and review

Mid 40’s and appear to be on track for my retirement goals. Current portfolio: VOO 76% / VXUS 9.5% / VXF 4.75/ AVUV 4.75%/ Cash equivalent 5% Looking had adding a little defense tilt with XAR or similar. Just 5-10% VOO 71.25 / VXUS 9.5 / VXF 4.75 / AVUV 4.75 / XAR 4.75 / Cash equivalent 5 Or VOO 66.5 / VXUS 9.5 / VXF 4.75 / AVUV 4.75 / XAR 9.5 / Cash equivalent 5 Cash equivalent would be mix of HSA and money market accounts at around 3.3-3.4%. Thoughts on the portfolio? submitted by /u/firewater

Preparing for the future fight: How one brigade is sacrificing robots in lieu of humans

The 3rd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division performed a successful robotic combined arms breach during a recent JRTC rotation, the brigade’s commander told Breaking Defense.

3D printing company Divergent to produce Tomahawk structure at new factory, CEO says

“We need all hands on deck, we need as many of these as we can possibly get, and Divergent is good complimentary supply for [Raytheon],” said CEO Lukas Czinger.

Goodbye INDOPACOM: Pentagon reverts back to Pacific Command

The rechristening follows a series of other name changes inside the department under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Comment: The fraternization between Poland and Germany has a special reason

Berlin and Warsaw are moving closer together in defense policy. Given our difficult shared history, this is not a given, but it makes sense.

NATO Secretary General says US not ‘pulling away’ from allies

Rutte also repeated messaging around the need for NATO allies to ramp up weapons production and deliver a stronger industrial base by making “steady” increases to defense investment plans.

Fair winds, INDOPACOM: Pentagon returns command name to US Pacific Command

U.S. Pacific Command was the formation's official name until 2018, when it was changed to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Poland weighs joining X-BAT autonomous vertical-takeoff fighter program

The announcement comes as the Polish government is mulling plans to acquire up to 32 new fighter jets.

Cheap heat pumps: “It’s not the tradesmen’s fault alone either”

Converting to heat pumps is far too expensive in Germany, says Axel Friedrich. In a pilot project, he halved the costs - and reveals how this could become standard.

US Army’s ‘Tropic Lightning’ Division ponders transformation lessons from Philippine war games

Because of HIMARS, Maj. Gen. Bartholomees pointed out his “division artillery is really what transformed the most.”