Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) - 29 January 2025 |
DJT Stock Soars as Trump Media Moves Into Financial Services
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT) surged almost 9% in early trading on Wednesday following the announcement of a new financial services and FinTech venture named Truth.Fi. The company, which operates the social media platform Truth Social and the streaming service Truth+, is leveraging its substantial cash reserves, which stood at over $700 million as of the end of 2024, to venture into financial technology.
Under the guidance of its board of directors, Trump Media & Technology Group has committed up to $250 million for this initiative, with the assets to be managed by Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW). |
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Undoubtedly there are still criminals entrenched in the criminal body USAID who are
making last ditch efforts to send money to a corrupt country in hopes of helping the
criminal Ukrainian empire as well as getting their usual kickbacks. USAID needs to be
dismantled and gone through with a fine-tooth comb to remove the corrupt entities and
then reassembled. |
HSBC scaling down it's Investment banking activities in UK and Europe is a positive for Barclays, who may pick up some business as a result. |
 NATO country stops training Ukrainian doctors following Trump order
Latvia’s top rehabilitation center says it hopes to be able to resume the training program once US funding is restored
Latvia has halted a training program for Ukrainian doctors after US President Donald Trump announced the suspension of American aid for foreign countries.
One of Trump’s first executive orders following his inauguration last week froze most of the funding provided by Washington to other countries for three months pending a comprehensive spending review.
USAID, the organization that promotes American interests abroad through so-called humanitarian development that spent over $60 billion in 2023 alone, has been significantly impacted.
Stella Lapina, chair of the board of the National Rehabilitation Center Vaivari, told La.lv news outlet on Tuesday that “due to the order that has led to the suspension of US foreign assistance programs for 90 days, we are temporarily restricting the training of Ukrainian specialists.”
The US-funded program had been underway at Vaivari in the resort city of Jurmala since 2014, when the fighting in Donbass began, allowing 187 Ukrainian doctors to improve their skills in rehabilitating injured troops, according to the center.
The money provided by Washington had been used to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of the participants and to pay the salaries of Latvian experts who trained them, it said.
We would like to stress that we very much appreciate the support by the US and look forward to the possibility of continuing this cooperation after this break [in funding] ends,” Lapina said.
The center “will continue to monitor the situation and will do everything possible to solve this challenge, because our goal is not only to provide professional assistance, but also to support Ukraine during its difficult time,” she added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mocked Latvia, which like other Baltic nations has been a staunch supporter of Kiev during its conflict with Moscow, for its unwillingness to help Ukraine without US funding.
“There is a word starting with the letter ‘I’ on the tip of my tongue. Oh, I remembered. ‘IntegrityR17;,” Zakharova wrote in a post on Telegram on Tuesday.
“A question to the Latvian regime: Did you gain independence [from the USSR] only to fall into slavery?” she asked.
According to Kiev, Latvia has provided Ukraine with more than €501 million ($522 million) in military aid since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022.
READ MORE: US officials pushing to unfreeze aid for Ukraine – FT
Moscow has repeatedly denounced the Latvian authorities for supporting Kiev, with Zakharova saying last year that “Riga is deliberately adding fuel to the fire and provoking the geographical expansion of hostilities.” |
Barclays’ (BARC.L) share price is trading near its 12-month high of £2.98, which was reached on 21 January.
This does not mean the stock has no value left though. It could be that the bank is just fundamentally worth more than before.
Or the market could simply be catching up to its true value. Indeed, it may be that this true value is still not fully reflected in the current share price.
To find out which is applicable to Barclays, I ran a deep dive analysis into its price and the issues surrounding it.
Share price valuation
The UK ‘Big Four’ bank currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 10. This is top of its peer group, which averages 7.9. These competitors comprise NatWest (NWG.L) at 7.5, Standard Chartered (STAN.L) at 7.8, HSBC (HSBA.L) at 7.9, and Lloyds (LLOY.L) at 8.4.
So, it looks overvalued on this basis.
However, on the price-to-book ratio Barclays presently trades at 0.6. Its competitor group average is 0.8, so it is undervalued on this measure.
It is also undervalued on the price-to-sales ratio, trading at 1.8 against a 2.3 peer group average.
To get to the bottom of the pricing, I ran a discounted cash flow analysis. In Barclays’ case, this modelling shows its shares are 26% undervalued at their current £2.89 price. Therefore, the fair value of the stock is technically £3.91.
They may trade lower or higher than that based on varying market forces, of course. However, it confirms to me that the shares may be a bargain right now.
Core business outlook
A risk for Barclays is the recent decline in UK interest rates and the possibility of additional falls to come. This might further affect its net interest income (NII) – the difference between the interest made on loans and deposits.
However, in its Q3 2024 results it upgraded its full-year 2024 NII target to above £11bn from around £11bn. For Barclays UK, the NII forecast is now around £6.5bn, from around £6.3bn.
These upgrades have resulted partly from a shift towards fee-based – rather than interest-based – business. And it has also followed an ongoing hedging programme. This aims to offset the effects of interest rate reductions through various financial instruments. Indeed, to the end 2026, Barclays targets total income of around £30bn.
Analysts forecast its earnings will increase by 10.86% each year to the end of 2027. And it is ultimately these that power a firm’s share price and dividend higher.
Another boost may come from the Bank of England’s current efforts to persuade the government to reduce banks’ regulatory requirements to help boost economic growth.
Will I buy the shares?
I already have holdings in HSBC and NatWest, bought a considerable while ago. So, adding another banking stock to my portfolio would negatively skew its risk-reward balance, I think.
However, if I had a larger portfolio or did not have two banking stocks in mine, I would buy Barclays’ shares today.
Central to my view is its strong earnings growth forecasts in the coming years. These should push the share price much closer to fair value, in my view. It should also prompt a rise in its dividend yield, I think. |
Ukrainian media in funding crisis after US cash cut
Washington previously funded the vast majority of “independent news outlets” in the country, according to a Kiev-based NGO
Multiple Ukrainian media outlets have issued appeals for emergency cash donations after US President Donald Trump suspended Washington's foreign aid programs. USAID, the organization that funnels billions of dollars to international causes deemed worthy by Washington has been put on hold, pending reviews, and up to 60 senior staff have reportedly been suspended on full pay.
Nine out of every ten media outlets in Ukraine have been impacted by Washington's decision, Oksana Romanyuk, executive director of the Institute of Mass Information in Kiev has claimed.
”Unfortunately, almost 90% of Ukrainian media outlets were surviving on grants,” the head of the media-focused NGO told Hromadske Radio. Romanyuk described Trump’s decision as a threat to democracy in Ukraine, claiming that “oligarchsR21; may seize control of a media landscape “weakened̶1; by the halt in American funding.
Hromadske is among the outlets soliciting private donations in the wake of aid freeze. Established in November 2013, just before the Maidan protests started, Hromadske received its seed funding directly from the US embassy in Kiev and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. The broadcaster played a pivotal role in criticizing the government during the violent coup that overthrew a democratically elected president and put Ukraine on course for division and conflict.
In a statement announcing the suspension of some of its projects, Hromadske praised the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as one of the most generous donors of “independent media” and NGOs in Ukraine. The investigative journalism organization Bihus.info also acknowledged that much of its work has been funded by the US.
The campaign for emergency funding also extends beyond traditional news outlets. Detector Media, a self-styled watchdog 'combating online disinformation,' has warned that hundreds of organizations are facing shutdown without USAID support, and urged private citizens and business owners to donate.
Irina Vereshchuk, the deputy chief of staff to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, has called the suspension of US non-military assistance “unexpected and unpleasant”. Kiev will hold “consultations with our American partners” to resume the flow of money while implementing measures to “stabilize the situation” in the interim, she promised on Tuesday. |
U.S. Transferred Dozens Of Patriot Missiles From Israel To Ukraine
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The United States military transferred dozens of Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland in order to deliver them to Ukraine, Axios reported on January 28, citing three sources with knowledge on the matter.
The Israeli military designation for the Patriot system is “Yahalom” [diamond in Hebrew]. Israeli PAC-2 systems have been upgraded to the GEM+ standard which has better performance against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or warplanes in complement to the PAC-3. Last April, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) officially decommissioned all of its Patriot air defense systems.
In June, the Financial Times reported that the U.S., Israel and Ukraine are in talks to provide Kiev forces with up to eight Patriot systems which were in service with the IAF.
Axios’ sources confirmed the talks. According to the sources, Israel dragged its feet for the last few months out of concern Russia would retaliate, perhaps by supplying advanced weapons to Iran.
One of the sources, a Ukrainian official, told the U.S. news site that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to take his calls on that issue for weeks. But in late September, Netanyahu finally approved the idea, according to an Israeli official.
The same Israeli official said that his country had informed Russia in advance of the move and stressed it was “only returning the Patriot system to the U.S.” and not supplying weapons to Ukraine.
According to Axios, a U.S. Air Force C-17 planes arrived at an air base in southern Israel in recent days and departed for Rzeszów in Eastern Poland.
The sources told the news site that the flight transferred roughly 90 patriot interceptors that can be used by Ukraine with its current Patriot systems. Additional equipment, like radars and other gear, will first be transferred to the U.S. to be refurbished.
A Patriot system costs around $1,1 billion. A single PAC-3 missile costs some $7 million and a PAC-2 missile could cost up to $4 million, depending on the version. Ukraine has already received multiple Patriot systems from the U.S., Germany and other allies. Most of these systems had been damaged or destroyed by the Russian military.
While the transfer of the systems will not have any impact on the battlefield in Ukraine, it will increase tensions between Russia and Israel.
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Private equity investment in Japan reaches $17.9bn amid rising deal activity
Private equity investment in Japan jumped 40.8% in 2024, reaching $17.9bn. This growth pushed Japan’s share of private equity and venture capital deals in the Asia-Pacific region to 15.6%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Analysts expect momentum to continue in 2025 as competition among private equity firms intensifies and corporations face increasing pressure to improve capital efficiency. As a result, take-private and carve-out deals have surged, attracting global investors.
Stable interest rates and low borrowing costs make Japan an appealing market. At the same time, succession challenges in family-owned businesses create additional investment opportunities. Foreign investors, who previously struggled to find quality assets, now see more companies exploring strategic sales. |
Denmark to increase military spending in North Atlantic by $2 billion amid row with Trump over Greenland
President Trump has said he wouldn't rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland |
'The Government risks playing fast and loose with people’s financial later lives. It’s imperative that protection is built into any changes to prevent any future Maxwell-style raids on people’s pensions.'
Final salary pension fund surpluses worth £160bn to be unlocked to boost economic growth
At a meeting in the City of London, the Prime Minister and Chancellor told top business leaders that changes to pension rules will allow surpluses currently 'trapped' in funds to be invested in the wider economy, fuelling economic growth. |
"Far too late now, we don't have a economy that is going to encourage any business they are shedding staff and will be bailing this doom loop of a island, whilst we will be driven to poverty by the highest energy prices in the world and rising punitive taxation".
The Daily Mail
Tear down the barriers to growth YOU created, critics tell Chancellor: Rachel Reeves urged to rip up hated measures like £25bn National Insurance grab as she launches latest bid to revive economy |
Britain’s Housing Crisis Update:
UK population set to grow by five million within 10 years - with net migration levels highest in Europe for the first time
Immigration is expected to be the sole driver of population growth in the UK, while projections also show an increase in the percentage of pensioners. |
Elon Musk's X partners with Visa on payment service in an effort to become an 'everything app,'
NEW YORK (AP) — X is teaming up with Visa to soon offer a system for real-time payments on the social media platform — signaling some progress in a yearslong vision from billionaire owner Elon Musk to create an “everything app.” |
28 Jan, 08:13
Top Iranian diplomat suggests relocating Israelis to Greenland
US President Trump told reporters on January 25 that in his view, the residents of the Gaza Strip who had lost their homes in Israeli military operations could be resettled to Arab countries
LONDON, January 28. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump should consider resettling Israelis to Greenland instead of relocating residents of the Gaza Strip to Arab countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
"My suggestion is something else. Instead of Palestinians, try to expel Israelis, take them to Greenland so they can kill two birds with one stone," Araghchi pointed out in an interview with Sky News, commenting on Trump’s remark about a potential resettlement of Gazans.
Trump told reporters on January 25 that in his view, the residents of the Gaza Strip who had lost their homes in Israeli military operations could be resettled to Arab countries. According to him, about 1.5 million people need to be relocated outside Gaza. Trump added that he had already discussed the issue with King Abdullah II of Jordan. |
Iran Declares Shahed-149 Drone Operational
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Iran has declared its largest combat drone, the Shahed-149 “Gaza,” operational, according to footage aired by the country’s state TV on January 27.
The announcement follows the successful deployment of the drone during the “Great Prophet 2025” military exercise, where it engaged multiple mock targets with high precision. The new footage showed the Shahed-149 equipped with eight Sadid-345 guided glide bombs.
The Shahed-149, which was developed by the Shahed Aviation Industries, is a high-altitude long-endurance combat drone similar in size, shape and role to the American MQ-9 Reaper. The drone was first unveiled and named after the Gaza Strip in honor of the Palestinians’ struggle against Israel amid the May 2021 Palestinian-Israeli crisis.
An upgraded version of the drone unveiled at Martyr Karimi Air Base in the central city of Kashan on July 22 is equipped with an improved landing gear system and new hardpoints.
The Shahed-149 has a flight duration of 35 hours, an operational range of 2,000 kilometers and a cruising speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
The Sadid-345 bomb, the main armament of the drone, weighs approximately 34 kilograms. It is equipped with electro-optical and GPS-assisted navigation, ensuring an accuracy of 2.5 to 5 meters The bomb has an estimated range of six kilometers.
The long endurance and range of the Shahed-149 should allow it to operate all the way from western Iran to Israel. The drone can also operate over the entire Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman from Iran’s southern region.
Iran managed to expand its drone program in the last few years despite facing sabotage attempts by Israel as well as strict sanctions by the United States and the European Union. Today, the country is one of the world leaders in drone technology.
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