Turkey Aims for $6 Billion Weapons Deal With Saudi Arabia
(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's government is hoping to reach a $6 billion defense deal with Saudi Arabia that could see the kingdom buy warships, tanks and missiles, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter.
What Happened to Hanging Out on the Street?
Vienna Embraces Heat Pumps to Ditch Russian Gas
Billionaire Developer Caruso Slams LA Leadership Over Wildfires
How Sanctuary Cities Are Preparing for Another Showdown With Trump
Hoboken PATH Station Will Close for Almost a Month on Jan. 30
A deal — including Saudi Arabia joining a Turkish jet-building project — could be finalized during a visit President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to make to the kingdom around March, the officials said.
Turkey is trying to grow its defense industry and sees Saudi Arabia, one of the world's biggest importers of arms, as a key market. The two countries signed a deal in 2023 for the Saudis to buy high-flying drones from Turkish company Baykar.
Now, Ankara wants to sell its main battle tank, called Altay, to Saudi Arabia along with missile defense systems, the officials said.
In addition, it's keen for Saudi Arabia to become a parter in a Turkish program to develop a fighter jet known as Kaan. While the first test flight happened early last year, it's still expected to take several years to become operational. Other countries may also join the project — in which BAE Systems is involved — in some form, according to the Turkish officials.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Saudi Arabia this week and will likely discuss the deal, the officials said.
The Saudi government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Turkey's Defense Ministry declined to comment.
Ties between Riyadh and Ankara have improved in recent years after being strained by the 2018 killing at the hands of Saudi agents of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
--With assistance from Christine Burke.
Forget Factories, Small US Towns Want Buc-ee's Gas Stations
What Trump's Tech Billionaires Are Buying
The CDC Won't Give the Public a Full Picture of Fertility Treatment Risks
Elon Musk's Inaugural Highs (and Lows)
How Kendrick Lamar Turned Beef With Drake Into Music Superstardom
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Belgrade braces for another anti-government protest, calling for an early parliamentary election
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Belgrade is bracing for yet another student-led protest on Saturday to pressure Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic to call for a snap parliamentary election after nearly eight months of rallies that have rattled his firm grip on power in the Balkan country. Tensions have soared ahead of the protest organized by Serbia's university students, a key force behind nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations that started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed, killing 16 people on Nov. 1. Many blamed the concrete roof crash on rampant government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects, leading to recurring mass protests. Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have refused the demand for an early vote and accused protesters of planning to spur violence at orders from abroad, which they didn't specify. In a show of business as usual, the Serbian president handed out presidential awards in the capital to people, including artists and journalists, he deemed worthy, as his loyalists, camping in a park in central Belgrade, announced they would hold a 'literary evening.' 'People need not worry — the state will be defended and thugs brought to justice," Vucic told reporters on Saturday. Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections are due in 2027. Saturday marks St. Vitus Day, a religious holiday and the date when Serbs mark a 14th-century battle against Ottoman Turks in Kosovo that was the start of hundreds of years of Turkish rule, holding symbolic importance. Police earlier this week arrested several people accused of allegedly plotting to overthrow the government and banned entry into the country to several people from Croatia and a theatre director from Montenegro without explanation. Serbia's railway company halted train service over an alleged bomb threat in what critics said was an apparent bid to prevent people from traveling to Belgrade for the rally. Authorities made similar moves back in March, ahead of what was the biggest ever anti-government protest in the Balkan country, which drew hundreds of thousands of people. Vucic's loyalists then set up a camp in a park outside his office, which still stands. The otherwise peaceful gathering on March 15 came to an abrupt end when part of the crowd suddenly scattered in panic, triggering allegations that authorities used a sonic weapon against peaceful protesters, which they have denied. Vucic, a former extreme nationalist, has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power over a decade ago. Though he formally says he wants Serbia to join the European Union, critics say Vucic has stifled democratic freedoms as he strengthened ties with Russia and China.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Charting the Global Economy: Consumer Spending Weakens in US
(Bloomberg) -- US consumers are growing tired, according to fresh data that showed cutbacks in spending on big-ticket goods and services, extending a first-quarter demand slowdown. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown Inflation-adjusted consumer spending dropped last month by the most since January. Americans also stepped back from the housing market as new-home sales slid by the most in three years. At the same time, Federal Reserve policymakers indicated they're in little rush to lower interest rates. In the euro area, business activity barely grew amid lingering uncertainty related to US tariffs and geopolitics. Meantime, profits at Chinese industrial firms sagged as the country battles deflationary forces. Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy, markets and geopolitics: US Consumer spending declined in May by the most since the start of the year, indicating elevated uncertainty around the Trump administration's economic policies is increasingly weighing on the outlook for growth. The latest figures suggest sluggish household demand, especially for services, extended into May after the weakest quarter for personal consumption since the onset of the pandemic. A flurry of Federal Reserve officials this week made clear they'll need a few more months to gain confidence that tariff-driven price hikes won't raise inflation in a persistent way. Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman captured attention in the past week when they signaled they'd be open to lowering rates as soon as the Fed's July 29-30 meeting if inflation remains contained. New-home sales fell 13.7% in May, the most in almost three years, as rampant incentives from builders fell short of alleviating affordability constraints. The latest results show homebuilders are sitting on rising inventories amid mounting economic challenges, including mortgage rates stuck near 7%, higher materials costs due to tariffs and a slowing labor market. Europe German companies are the most upbeat about the economy in more than two years as an imminent boost to public spending outweighs concerns over US tariffs and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. The euro area's private sector barely grew in June, remaining in limbo as erratic US trade policy and geopolitical conflicts leave companies in the dark on what's next. Surging grocery bills are threatening to slow the pace of the Bank of England's interest-rate cuts by raising the risk that inflation will stay elevated even as the UK economy shows signs of sputtering. The prices of staples including butter, beef and chocolate in May were up nearly 20% from a year earlier, contributing to the biggest annual jump in overall food prices since February 2024. Asia China's industrial firms saw their profits drop the most since October, illustrating weakness in an economy strained by higher US tariffs and lingering deflationary pressure. Industrial profits fell 9.1% in May from a year earlier. The deterioration bodes ill for business confidence and could make companies more reluctant to invest and hire. Apartment rents in Tokyo are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years in the latest sign for the Bank of Japan that the nation's inflation trend is spreading deeper through the economy. Rents in the capital climbed 1.3% from a year earlier in April and May for the largest gains since 1994, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Emerging Markets Mexico's central bank again cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point but it opened the door to smaller cuts going forward as policymakers worry the economy will continue to suffer headwinds after barely avoiding tipping into recession earlier this year. World In addition to Mexico's policy decision, central bankers in Paraguay, Morocco, Hungary, Thailand, Czech Republic, Guatemala, and Colombia all kept interest rates unchanged. --With assistance from Irina Anghel, Matthew Boesler, John Liu, Catarina Saraiva, Michael Sasso, Zoe Schneeweiss, Mark Schroers, Fran Wang, Alexander Weber and Erica Yokoyama. America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate Unveils New Trump Tax Draft With Plans to Vote Soon
(Bloomberg) -- Senate Republicans unveiled a new version of their $4.2 trillion tax cut package, moving closer to a vote as they near a July 4 deadline set by President Donald Trump. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown The new draft reflects compromises among warring factions of the Senate GOP which has been divided over how much to cut safety-net programs such as Medicaid and how rapidly to phase out of renewable energy tax credits enacted under the Biden administration. A tentative deal with House Republicans to increase the state and local tax deduction is included. The bill would raise the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for five years before snapping back to the $10,000 level. The new cap applies to 2025 and rises 1% in subsequent years. Republicans plan to start voting on the tax bill Saturday with final votes coming as soon as early Sunday. Party leaders plan to bring House members back to Washington early next week for what they hope will be final approval of the measure in time for Trump's Independence Day deadline. It is not yet clear if the 50 Senate Republicans needed to pass the bill are all on board. The bill can be further altered on the Senate floor to secure the votes if needed. The House could make more changes if Speaker Mike Johnson has trouble corralling votes for the measure. To win over moderate Republicans, the bill would create a new $25 billion rural hospital fund aimed at helping some Medicaid providers avoid cuts. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, however, had demanded a $100 billion fund. Moderate Republicans also won a delay from 2031 to 2032 for when a new 3.5% cap on state Medicaid provider taxes takes effect. The provider tax is a gimmick by which states boost their federal Medicaid reimbursement rates and many states have come to rely on the practice. Another change in the measure is that a tax credit for hydrogen production wouldn't be phased out until 2028 for projects that begin construction before then. Previous version ended the credit after 2025. The measure would avert a US payment default as soon as August by raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. --With assistance from Ari Natter and Mike Dorning. (Updates with details of bill starting in third paragraph) America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
