Nearly half of firms (48%) expected turnover to grow over the next 12 months in the first quarter of the year, up from 42% in the final quarter of 2025.
Lord Robertson stated, 'We need to sort of round up those who are available, fit, and willing to be able to do it.' This emphasizes the urgency of engaging former service personnel in the strategic reserve.
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles stated, 'Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades. These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.'
Meeting in Munich over the weekend, officials on both sides said they wanted to continue to work together. In the world of geopolitics all eyes were on Southern Germany over the weekend where the Munich Security Conference (MSC) served as the latest make or break moment for Germany-US relations. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered the event's opening speech in which he acknowledged that a rift has opened up with the US, and urged trans-Atlantic partners to repair and revive trust.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reassured a nervous Europe on Saturday that Washington wants to "revitalise" the transatlantic alliance. "We do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilisation in human history," Rubio said. "What we want is a reinvigorated alliance." Rubio stressed that the US and Europe "belong together" and must act as partners to defend shared values.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's warm welcome on a visit to China this week marks a thaw in icy relations with Beijing. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in China this week with a large delegation of businesspeople and cultural figures. He received a warm welcome from Chinese President Xi Jinping. But the visit got a frosty reception from the White House, with United States President Donald Trump calling Starmer's trip dangerous.