{"id":64349,"date":"2026-07-07T03:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-and-europe-move-toward-joint-missile-production-amid-global-supply-strains\/64349\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T03:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:08:14","slug":"us-and-europe-move-toward-joint-missile-production-amid-global-supply-strains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-and-europe-move-toward-joint-missile-production-amid-global-supply-strains\/64349\/","title":{"rendered":"US and Europe Move Toward Joint Missile Production Amid Global Supply Strains"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US and European allies are negotiating the co-production of Raytheon&#39;s (<a href=\"\/stock\/RTX\">RTX<\/a>) AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and maintenance facilities for Lockheed Martin&#39;s (<a href=\"\/stock\/LMT\">LMT<\/a>) PAC-3 Patriot missiles to alleviate global supply bottlenecks.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on SpaceX (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPCX\">SPCX<\/a>) with a Buy rating and a $205 price target, following the company&#39;s record-breaking $86 billion IPO.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Volkswagen (<a href=\"\/stock\/VOW3\">VOW3<\/a>) is considering a massive restructuring that could include downsizing its executive board and cutting up to 100,000 jobs globally.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>France&#39;s trade deficit widened to \u20ac6.93 billion in May, driven by rising energy costs and geopolitical instability in the Middle East.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Bank of England is reviewing leverage rules for government bonds, a move that could slash UK borrowing costs by over \u00a31 billion annually.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2>Defense Giants Seek European Expansion<\/h2>\n<p>The United States is in advanced talks with <strong>Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden<\/strong> to establish a major maintenance facility for Lockheed Martin (<a href=\"\/stock\/LMT\">LMT<\/a>) <strong>PAC-3 Patriot missiles<\/strong> in Europe. Simultaneously, a separate initiative is exploring the co-production of Raytheon&#39;s (<a href=\"\/stock\/RTX\">RTX<\/a>) <strong>AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles<\/strong> on European soil. These projects, expected to be formalized at the <strong>NATO Industry Forum in Ankara<\/strong>, aim to free up domestic US manufacturing capacity as stockpiles remain depleted by ongoing conflicts in <strong>Ukraine and Iran<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The shift toward European production reflects growing pressure from the Trump administration for allies to bolster their own defense industrial bases.<\/em> By localizing production of critical interceptors and air-to-air missiles, NATO members hope to reduce delivery timelines that have been stretched by record global demand.<\/p>\n<h2>SpaceX Receives Bullish Wall Street Debut<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Goldman Sachs<\/strong> has officially initiated coverage on SpaceX (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPCX\">SPCX<\/a>) with a <strong>Buy rating and a price target of $205<\/strong>, representing a <strong>28% upside<\/strong> from current levels. The firm highlighted the company&#39;s &quot;implausible&quot; track record of innovation in reusable launch technology and its dominant position in the satellite connectivity market via <strong>Starlink<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX recently completed a historic <strong>$86 billion IPO<\/strong>, bringing its total market capitalization to approximately <strong>$2.4 trillion<\/strong>. Analysts at Goldman Sachs view the company as a primary beneficiary of the emerging &quot;orbital compute&quot; and lunar economies, forecasting significant revenue growth through 2026.<\/p>\n<h2>Volkswagen Weighs Radical Restructuring<\/h2>\n<p>Volkswagen (<a href=\"\/stock\/VOW3\">VOW3<\/a>) is reportedly preparing for its most significant overhaul in history, with CEO <strong>Oliver Blume<\/strong> weighing a plan to <strong>downsize the executive board<\/strong> and eliminate up to <strong>100,000 jobs<\/strong> worldwide. The proposal, which will be reviewed by the Supervisory Board on <strong>July 9<\/strong>, includes the potential closure of four manufacturing plants in Germany.<\/p>\n<p><em>The German automaker is struggling with high fixed costs and intensifying competition from Chinese EV manufacturers.<\/em> The restructuring aims to achieve annual net savings of <strong>\u20ac6 billion by 2030<\/strong> while simplifying internal decision-making processes to accelerate technology development.<\/p>\n<h2>European Economic Shifts and Regulatory Changes<\/h2>\n<p><strong>France&#39;s trade balance<\/strong> for May hit a deficit of <strong>\u20ac6.93 billion<\/strong>, a significant increase from the previous month&#39;s revised <strong>\u20ac5.42 billion<\/strong>. The deterioration is largely attributed to a <strong>50% surge in energy import prices<\/strong> linked to Middle East instability, which has weighed heavily on the Eurozone&#39;s second-largest economy.<\/p>\n<p>In the UK, the <strong>Bank of England<\/strong> is considering changes to bank leverage rules that would exempt <strong>government gilts<\/strong>. Analysts from <strong>Lloyds<\/strong> suggest this regulatory shift could mechanically raise demand for UK debt, potentially reducing government borrowing costs by more than <strong>\u00a31 billion per year<\/strong> at a time of elevated fiscal pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US and European allies are negotiating the co-production of Raytheon&#39;s (RTX) AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and maintenance facilities for 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