Nato’s Secretary General on Monday encouraged members of the alliance to increase their defence spending to meet growing global threats.
Before a week-long meeting of defence ministers, Jens Stoltenberg said tht the alliance should increase its numbers in Iraq and questioned the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Mr Stoltenberg also called on members to consider making their own militaries carbon neutral.
Nato defence chiefs are to discuss topics from Afghanistan to Iraq and the increasing influence of Russia and China.
A change in atmosphere is expected from previous years after the threats from former US president Donald Trump to end America’s involvement in the 75-year-old alliance.
“This year will be a unique opportunity to start a new chapter for transatlantic relations,” Mr Stoltenberg said in Brussels.
“When we meet, I want to present leaders an ambitious agenda for transatlantic security and defence.”
His main call was for all Nato members to increase funding for deterrence and defence.
“Spending more together would demonstrate the strength of our commitment to Article 5 – our promise to defend each other – and it would contribute to fairer burden-sharing,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
He called for a more robust approach against the “global challenges” facing the alliance.
“China and Russia are at the forefront of an authoritarian push back against the rules-based international order,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
“So we should enhance our political dialogue and practical co-operation with like-minded partners to promote our values and protect our interests.”
With US President Joe Biden launching a global defence review for his country’s forces, it remains unclear how many troops America will keep in Iraq and the wider Middle East.
But Mr Stoltenberg suggested that the US should retain a strong military presence.
“Nato’s mission in Iraq is a key contribution to the fight against international terrorism," he said.
"I expect ministers will agree to launch an expanded mission, with more allied personnel training and advising.
“The mission will expand gradually in response to the situation. This follows requests from the Iraqi government so that together we can ensure that ISIS does not return.”
During the summit, defence ministers will discuss whether the 10,000 Nato troops should remain in Afghanistan while Taliban violence rages.
Mr Stoltenberg said that peace talks were fragile and “violence remains unacceptably high”, with continued Taliban attacks on civilians.
Last year, Mr Trump's administration agreed with the Taliban that foreign troops would leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in return for the insurgents cutting ties with Al Qaeda and opening peace talks with the Kabul government.
But Mr Biden's administration said it would review the deal, with the Pentagon accusing the Taliban of not meeting commitments to reduce violence.
Mr Stoltenberg has repeatedly insisted that Nato members must decide together on the future of their mission.
“We need to find the right balance between making sure not to stay longer than necessary but at the same time that we don't leave too early," he said.
"We should not end up in a situation where Afghanistan again becomes a platform or a safe haven for international terrorists."
On climate change, he said that Nato countries had to find the “gold standard on reducing emissions from the military sector”, and contribute to the goal of no carbon emissions.
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
