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Today’s agenda: Trump’s UK state visit; Air India findings; Gaza “death traps”; investment banking’s bad run
Good morning, and welcome back to the working week. We start with an exclusive interview with Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius ahead of talks with the US over European security.
Re-arming Europe: Weapons makers should stop complaining and “deliver”, Pistorius told the Financial Times, as his government’s booming defence spending plans have addressed industry concerns. The minister said there were still project delays and industry needs to “ramp up” capacities. He also said his ministry was working on a procurement plan for equipment including tanks, submarines, drones and fighter jets well into the 2030s.
Why it matters: After decades of under-investment in its armed forces, Pistorius has been tasked with delivering a Zeitenwende — or sea change — to give Germany a leading role in European security. “The weakness in the past was always that replacements were only procured once the existing ones were practically gone or broken,” Pistorius said. “We need a system that renews itself through continuous deliveries.”
Looking ahead: Pistorius is due to meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington today, to discuss a “road map” for American security support for Europe. Also on the agenda is Ukraine and the pressing issue of US Patriot air defence systems, after deliveries to Kyiv were paused by Washington. Berlin has already given three of its once 12-strong stock of the critical Patriot systems to Kyiv. Here’s more from the interview ahead of today’s meeting.
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France: President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to increase military spending by €6.5bn over the next two years.
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EU: Brussels will pursue more subsidy investigations against foreign companies investing in the bloc, its antitrust chief told the FT.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
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Argentina: The country publishes its consumer price index. President Javier Milei hopes a strong peso will help kill inflation — a risky bet, writes Michael Stott.
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Bastille Day: France celebrates its national day.
Five more top stories
1. Trump will not address parliament during his second state visit to Britain in September, with the House of Commons in recess. The US president will be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle and not Buckingham Palace, in a programme that aims to shield him from public and political protest.
2. Exclusive: Taiwan’s central bank has warned “a few foreign investors” against violating its capital controls as it seeks to rein in the New Taiwan dollar’s sharp rally. Analysts say the bank is stepping up efforts to “close loopholes and discourage speculative shorts” without intervening, to avoid being labelled a currency manipulator by the US.
3. US investors are relaunching a key Ukrainian grain export terminal after wresting control from alleged looters. The takeover of the Olimpex terminal in the port of Odesa, by Argentem Creek Partners and Innovatus Capital Partners, comes after the US-based funds secured victory in a saga of alleged loan fraud that underlines the challenges of reviving foreign investment in wartime Ukraine.
4. Fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes do not pose a safety issue, the US aviation regulator has said. The Federal Aviation Administration’s notice to international counterparts followed a preliminary report by Indian authorities that the engines of the Boeing Dreamliner involved in a fatal Air India crash last month cut off shortly after take-off.
5. The World Health Organization has announced that the chief of its south-east Asia regional agency is “on leave” following accusations of fraud. Saima Wazed — the daughter of Sheikh Hasina, the authoritarian former leader of Bangladesh — was charged in March by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission, and faces arrest if she returns from her post in India. Read the full story.
News in-depth
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been championed by the US and Israel as a lifeline for the strip’s 2.1mn population. But testimony, satellite imagery and verified video compiled by the FT show how the aid scheme has forced hungry Palestinians into a dangerous journey from which many never return.
We’re also reading . . .
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Middle East markets: Israel’s stunning stock rally suggests the country is cementing its status as the regional economic superpower, writes Ruchir Sharma.
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Meta: Mark Zuckerberg will this week testify in a Delaware trial that has become a test of board culpability over corporate scandals.
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Linda Yaccarino: The social media chief executive who tried to “ride the tiger” and her tumultuous partnership with Elon Musk.
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US-Japan ties: After Tokyo enjoyed warm relations during Trump’s first term, it has not adapted to the US president’s transactional approach in trade and defence.
Chart of the day
Investment banking is on course to extend a record streak of underperformance, supplying less than a quarter of Wall Street revenues at the biggest US banks for the 14th quarter in a row.
Take a break from the news
A journey to Aletsch in Switzerland, the Alps’ biggest glacier, offers some blissful respite from the summer heat — but also a poignant sense that, as its ice melts, time is running out.
