NATO's defense ministers committed to spending at least 2.5% of GDP on defense, with Poland, the Baltics, and Greece already running above 4%, and the alliance has set a target of 5% of GDP on defense spending by 2035. In 2025, all 32 NATO allies met or exceeded the 2% target for the first time, compared with only three in 2014.
Sales jumped 28pc for the equity markets segment in the first quarter, the fastest growth of any division and ahead of analyst estimates. Buoyed by volatile markets, the performance was also "supported by the growing momentum on the Greek market and by the dynamic growth in ETFs", Euronext said.
Taiwan and South Korea sit at the center of the global chip supply chain, and three exchange-traded funds offer the most direct way to hold that exposure: the iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF ( NYSEARCA:EWT | EWT Price Prediction), the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF ( NYSEARCA:EWY), and the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( NASDAQ:SOXX). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing sits at the center of the AI hardware boom, building the leading‑edge logic chips that drive modern accelerators. South Korea anchors the memory side of the stack, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dominating the high‑bandwidth modules that sit right next to those processors.
Chinese stocks have spent the last five years really testing the patience of even the most hardcore contrarians. Between the property sector struggles, the crackdown on tech platforms, and the constant friction over chip exports and tariffs, valuations have been pushed down across the board.
The iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF holds only U.S. Treasury notes and bonds across the maturity curve, providing the cleanest expression of flight-to-quality stability in a single ticker. Credit risk is effectively zero because every holding carries the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, as highlighted by CNBC.
