🗣🤝🗣 — 🇩🇪 BILD:

"Emmanuel Macron to meet Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz today to discuss European security

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to include Germany in his “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine, which he has been forming with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for several weeks.

Macron and chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz will meet for dinner in Berlin. The topic of the talks will of course be the phone call between Putin and Trump, as well as ensuring Europe's security without the US. Ultimately, it is about war and peace and billions of euros of taxpayers' money.

It is also possible that Macron and Merz will discuss the idea of ​​deploying French nuclear weapons in Germany and other EU countries. “I want to believe that the US will remain on our side. But we must be prepared for the fact that this will not be the case,” Macron says.

📌 Critics of the idea believe that France only wants to modernize its nuclear arsenal with other people's money, without being prepared to share the sole right to make decisions on its use.

Merz is open to the nuclear shield proposal. The chancellor candidate told BILD that it is now "more than ever" in Germany's interest to have this discussion without taboos:

"Given the current situation, we need to discuss these issues not only with France, but also with the UK. Together with the US, we need a joint nuclear defense shield for Europe."

The current Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, considers American nuclear weapons in Germany indispensable and does not want Trump to even suggest the idea of ​​withdrawing them.

Another topic on the dinner agenda is the "White Paper on the Future of European Defense," which the European Commission intends to present. It is known that it will discuss, for example, joint air defense systems. The goal is for EU countries to prioritize the purchase of European military equipment and simplify tender procedures for the supply of weapons and ammunition. This will allow the defense industry to develop faster."

🔗 Source:

🇩🇪📃📈💸🔫 — 📰 ZeroHedge | Germany Passes Biggest Debt-Funded Spending Splurge In Its History | March 18, 2025:

"(...)

Late on Tuesday afternoon, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats, currently in talks to form a government following last month's election, had proposed a €500BN fund for infrastructure and changes to borrowing rules to bolster defence and revive growth in Europe's largest economy. 

The controversial legislation was approved in the lower house of parliament with 513 votes out of a total of 733, clearing the two-thirds threshold required for constitutional changes.

The bill will release defense spending from debt restrictions, creating a potentially unlimited supply of money to rearm to deter Russia, or at least limited by how long it takes for the German bond market to crack because unlike the US, the Euro is not the world's reserve currency. And judging by the recent surge in bund yields - not driven at all by a stronger economy but merely by term premium and fears of even more debt - it won't take too long."

🗄 Archive

🔗 Full:

👤📞👤 — 🇺🇦 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky:

"Had a positive, very meaningful and frank conversation with US President Donald Trump. Thanked him for the good and productive start of the work of the Ukrainian and American teams in Jeddah on March 11. This meeting of the teams helped to make significant progress on the path to ending the war. We agreed that Ukraine and the United States should continue to work together to achieve a real end to the war and a lasting peace. We believe that together with America, with President Trump and thanks to American leadership, we can achieve a lasting peace this year.

President Trump shared the details of the conversation with Putin and the key issues they discussed. One of the first steps towards a complete end to the war could be to stop attacks on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it. Our teams discussed this step in Jeddah. The American side also proposed an unconditional ceasefire on the front line, and Ukraine also accepted this proposal. We will continue to work to make this happen. We believe that such steps are necessary to create an opportunity to prepare a comprehensive peace agreement during the ceasefire.

I also provided an update on the situation on the battlefield and the consequences of Russian strikes. We discussed the situation in the Kursk region, raised the issue of the release of prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children captured by Russian forces. We also discussed the state of Ukraine’s air defenses and the possibilities of strengthening them to protect people’s lives.

We instructed our teams to resolve technical issues related to the implementation and extension of the partial ceasefire. The Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps towards peace. We instructed our advisors and representatives to carry out this work as soon as possible. We noted the successful work of our advisors and representatives: Rubio, Volz, Kellogg, Yermak, Sibiga, Umerov, and Palisa. During further meetings, the teams can agree on all aspects necessary to move forward on the path to lasting peace and security guarantees.

I thanked President Trump and the American people for their support. I emphasized that Ukrainians want peace, which is why Ukraine has accepted the unconditional ceasefire proposal. I emphasized the importance of President Trump’s vision of peace through strength. We agreed to maintain ongoing contact, including at the highest level and through our teams."

🔗 Source:

🇺🇸🏴‍☠️💥🇻🇪🇻🇪 — Erik D. Prince, founder of the private army Blackwater, along with Donald Trump Jr., is discussing covert actions to remove Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela, which he describes as a "narco-state" and a "communist threat to America." He claims that "processes are already underway" and mentions the fundraising campaign "Ya Casi Venezuela."

📈🌏🇪🇺 Asian defence stocks soar to record highs as Europe prepares to re-arm

Japanese and South Korean defence stocks have surged to record highs on expectations that European countries will purchase more military equipment from Asia after Donald Trump threatened to withdraw the US’s security umbrella.

Shares in Hanwha Aerospace, South Korea’s leading artillery company, are up 134 per cent this year, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan’s largest defence contractor, has gained 26 per cent.

The stocks rose 6.8 per cent and 12.2 per cent, respectively, on Monday after German lawmakers agreed to increase infrastructure and defence spending last week.

https://archive.ph/Sd80A

https://www.ft.com/content/25226697-47ca-4701-a431-4b45cb85a635

🇨🇳🚘 Cheap Chinese Cars Are Taking Over Roads From Brazil to South Africa

Donald Trump wants to keep Chinese carmakers out of the US, but that won’t stop them from taking over the rest of the world. They already are.

From Bangkok to Johannesburg to Sao Paulo, the streets are increasingly jammed with inexpensive compacts, crossovers and SUVs made by companies like Great Wall Motor Co., BYD Co., Chery Automobile Co. and SAIC Motor Corp.

While the Trump administration is expected to shield the US’s Big Three from Chinese rivals at home, and Canada and the European Union have placed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, buyers in emerging markets have welcomed Chinese cars and trucks with open arms — posing a new threat to growth-hungry global automakers.

China sends more vehicles abroad than any other country, and its passenger car exports surged nearly 20% to 4.9 million in 2024 alone, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers — from less than 1 million in 2020.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-03-17/chinese-carmakers-threaten-ford-gm-stellantis-in-global-markets

https://archive.ph/4yc6c

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷❗️ — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

President Trump is ready to do anything to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon

💰 Kraken to acquire NinjaTrader: Introducing the next era of professional trading

We are excited to announce we have entered into an agreement to acquire NinjaTrader, the leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion, subject to certain purchase price adjustments.

This acquisition strengthens our position as a 24/7, always-on technology platform built for professional traders, making us a leader in U.S. futures for both traditional and crypto markets. It also accelerates Kraken’s multi-asset-class ambitions, which include plans for equities trading and payments.

Founded in 2003, NinjaTrader provides advanced futures trading tools to nearly two million traders and operates as a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). This transaction marks the largest-ever deal combining traditional finance (TradFi) and crypto.

NinjaTrader is a trusted hub for professional futures traders. With this acquisition, strategic benefits include:

➡️ U.S. futures – NinjaTrader’s CFTC-registered FCM license allows Kraken to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the U.S.

➡️ Unlocked global regulatory licensing and growth – Kraken’s U.K. MTF, EU MiFID and Australian securities licenses accelerate NinjaTrader’s expansion into the U.K., Europe and Australia.

➡️ Seamless multi-asset trading – For both Kraken and NinjaTrader clients, the ability to trade crypto, futures and traditional financial products.

➡️ Access to elite trading tools – Clients will benefit from NinjaTrader’s pro-grade analytics, execution engines and futures liquidity, combined with Kraken’s best-in-class crypto liquidity and trading experience.

“Traditional markets run on post-WWII, 1950s banking systems, exchanges that close at 4 p.m. ET and settlement delays that take days to resolve. Crypto rails fixed these issues, operating with efficient and real-time infrastructure. But legacy finance and crypto have remained separate ecosystems, until today. This transaction is the first step in our vision of an institutional-grade trading platform where any asset can be traded, anytime,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO.

https://blog.kraken.com/news/kraken-to-acquire-ninjatrader

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🇷🇺 Russia has expanded its gold reserves to a record high, reaching $217.4 billion as of March 1.

Gold now accounts for 34.4% of the country’s total foreign exchange reserves

🔗 Gold Telegraph