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The Weekend: When Europe's do-or-die moment put a rocket under defence stocks

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Europe is scrambling to boost its military firepower as any realistic hopes of being able to rely on the US to protect Ukraine from Russia fade.

Donald Trump's now-infamous clash with Volodymyr Zelensky was followed by a withdrawal of US military aid for Ukraine and a growing sense of panic among European leaders. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, swiftly unveiled the ReArm Europe plan, declaring that it could "mobilise close to €800bn (£667bn)" to protect the continent.

Investors were quick to capitalise on what promises to be a huge wave of demand for everything from tanks and ammunition to fighter jets.

Here are some highlights from the last seven days, plus a glimpse at the week ahead.

Key moments from last week

US President Donald Trump (C) attends a the White House Crypto Summit in Washington, DC, March 7, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
US president Donald Trump receives applause from guests at a the White House 'crypto summit' on 7 March. · JIM WATSON via Getty Images

The highly-rated defence stocks investors are buying up

The ramping up of military spending across Europe in the face of the threat from Russia has sent defence stocks surging. It followed a pledge from UK prime minister Keir Starmer to increase defence spending to 3% by the start of the next parliament.

British stalwarts Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and BAE Systems (BA.L) were among the big winners last week.

Trump pledges more support for crypto world

Donald Trump told a gathering of cryptocurrency bigwigs that he is making good on his pledges to them and would continue to give the industry what it needs.

"I promised to make America the bitcoin (BTC-USD) superpower of the world and the crypto capital of the planet and we're taking historic action to deliver on that promise," he said at the end of a "crypto summit" at the White House.

The meeting came after the president on Thursday fulfilled one of his campaign promises by authorising the creation of a strategic US bitcoin reserve — and a separate stockpile of other digital assets.

Bank of England expects UK inflation rise amid 'even greater uncertainty'

The central bank expects the pace of price increases to accelerate this year, although it will be "nothing like a few years ago".

This was according to Bank of England (BoE) governor Andrew Bailey, who appeared before the Treasury committee on Wednesday along with other policymakers.

He said Britain was entering a world of “even greater uncertainty," which had “widened” since the last meeting in February, when the monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to cut interest rates to 4.5%.

Why Abrdn reinstated the Es after rebrand

The vowels are back. British asset management firm Abrdn (ABDN.L) announced this week that it is reinstating the Es in its name four years after it removed them in a rebranding exercise dubbed an “act of corporate insanity”.