United States Approves $2.68 Billion Airstrike Weapons Deal with Canada

Economic

Political

Summary:

The U.S. has formally approved a $2.68 billion foreign military sale to Canada, supplying thousands of advanced airstrike munitions and support systems through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program...

Pentagon Greenlights Major Defense Export to Canada

On December 4, the U.S. Department of State approved a major foreign military sale to Canada valued at approximately $2.68 billion, as confirmed by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The deal involves a wide range of air-to-ground offensive weapons and related equipment under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, aimed at strengthening Canada’s airstrike capabilities and interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces.

This move signals not only the deepening of U.S.–Canada defense ties but also the U.S. administration’s continued commitment to support allied nations through comprehensive military modernization packages. The decision now awaits review by the U.S. Congress, a procedural step in all large-scale arms exports.

Scope and Strategic Implications of the Weapon Package

The package includes a formidable arsenal: up to 5,332 GBU-39 and GBU-53 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs), 3,414 BLU-111 general-purpose bombs, 220 large BLU-117 bombs, and thousands of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, including the KMU-572, KMU-556, and KMU-557 variants.

These systems represent advanced precision-strike capabilities designed to enhance Canada’s deterrence posture and operational effectiveness in high-intensity conflict environments. The selection of SDBs and JDAM kits demonstrates a preference for versatile, GPS-guided munitions suitable for a range of mission profiles offensive and defensive alike.

The inclusion of training bombs, penetrator warheads, target seekers, fuses, software, spare parts, and full logistical and technical support services underscores the depth and sustainability of the agreement. These elements ensure that the acquisition goes beyond hardware to include operational readiness and lifecycle support.

Contractors and Offset Negotiations Still Pending

The principal contractors are Boeing Co. and RTX Corp., both headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Their involvement reflects the central role of established U.S. defense giants in supplying precision munitions to allies. While offset arrangements are typical in defense contracts of this scale often involving local industrial participation or technology transfer the U.S. government has confirmed that no formal offset proposal has yet been submitted. Any such negotiations will be conducted directly between Canadian authorities and the contractors involved.

This absence of a finalized offset plan means the full economic implications for Canada’s domestic defense industry are still evolving. If offsets are negotiated, they may bolster Canada’s defense manufacturing base or contribute to knowledge-sharing in key defense technologies.

Economic and Political Context of the Deal

The approval of this sale occurs amid growing geopolitical tensions and renewed emphasis on strengthening NATO's defense capabilities. For Canada, the deal supports its ambitions to modernize its Air Force and align more closely with U.S. and NATO operational standards. The sheer volume and diversity of the munitions point to a long-term strategy to build up stockpiles and maintain readiness across a broad spectrum of scenarios.

From the U.S. perspective, the deal also benefits its domestic defense sector, supporting employment and sustaining production lines for precision-guided munitions. Economically, this reinforces the reciprocal value of FMS agreements for both exporter and recipient countries.

This $2.68 billion arms package reinforces the strategic and operational bond between the U.S. and Canada at a time of rising global security challenges. While still subject to Congressional review, the sale reflects Canada’s growing defense priorities and the U.S.’s strategic alignment with its northern ally. The depth of the package, including advanced munitions and comprehensive support, suggests not only short-term defense enhancements but also long-term integration and readiness within allied defense frameworks.

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Political

Economic

President Donald Trump praised cooperation between the US, Canada and Mexico at Friday’s World Cup draw, even as divisions over North American trade and immigration policy threaten to overshadow next year’s global soccer tournament hosted by the three neighboring countries.

“We’ve worked closely with those two countries, and the coordination and friendship and relationship has been outstanding,” Trump told attendees. “I think you’re going to have an event the likes of which maybe the world has never seen.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also attended the draw on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, and the trio appeared on stage to kick off the ceremony. They met privately with Trump for 45 minutes after the event, and the US leader told reporters beforehand he planned to raise trade and immigration in the talks.

Trump was largely laudatory of his fellow leaders, despite in recent weeks criticizing Canada over its opposition to his tariff regime and Mexico over immigration and counternarcotics policies.

“We’ve had a tremendous relationship,” Trump said.

After the meeting, Carney’s office said the three leaders “agreed to keep working together” on the US-Canada Mexico Agreement, the trade deal that Trump signed in his first term and is up for review next year.

The glitzy showcase assigned matchups of participating nations to be played in host cities in all three countries.

The US will face off against Paraguay and Australia in the group stage, Canada’s group includes Qatar and Switzerland, while Mexico is pitted against South Africa and South Korea. Each host team’s initial group will also include the winner of a European play-in game.

While teams will learn what opponents they’ll face in the first round on Friday, FIFA will announce on Saturday where the games will take place. The event doubled as another chance for Trump to put his mark on the tournament, as international governing body FIFA has gone to lengths to curry favor with the president.

Trump was given a speaking slot in order to receive a newly created FIFA peace prize, awarded to the president after he lost out on his coveted Nobel Peace Prize. Trump called it “truly one of the great honors of my life.”

Even some of the musical acts selected to perform at the draw — Andrea Bocelli and the Village People — are Trump favorites.

The World Cup promises to draw vast numbers of spectators and international fans to North America, and organizers have said they expect windfalls for the 16 host cities, 11 of which are in the US.

“Nobody’s ever sold as many tickets, and you’re still a long way from that ball being kicked down the field,” Trump said.

Yet organizers’ plans to roll out the welcome mat for fans around the world have run headlong into the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has featured high-profile raids conducted by masked agents, restrictions on travel to the US and heated rhetoric against migrants.

Trump’s team has expressed confidence that steps including an expedited visa process for fans will ease concerns about coming to the US. But critics have said that the administration’s actions and message on immigration have already shattered the spirit of global unity the World Cup is supposed to embody.

The US in June restricted entry for travelers from 19 countries, and this week moved to further tighten immigration curbs after the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. Trump has also threatened to move World Cup games out of the Boston area if he thought the Democrat-run city was unsafe, though told reporters on Friday he did not want to do so and believed he could address any issues. The games are being held in the suburb of Foxborough.

While the event will require close coordination among the three host countries, Trump is battling with Canada and Mexico over trade, immigration and national security. The president has openly mused about launching strikes on drug cartels in Mexico and turning Canada into the 51st US state. Most recently, he’s threatened to pull out of the North American trade pact he negotiated during his first term.

Trump’s Presence

The president has been heavily involved in planning and promotion for the upcoming tournament, frequently hosting FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the White House. The organization opened an office in Trump Tower in June.

Trump stood up a World Cup task force to handle the logistical and security challenges surrounding the premier showcase for international soccer, and made himself the chair. Andrew Giuliani, son of Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, serves as the panel’s executive director.

Forty-two of the 48 qualifying countries have been finalized for the World Cup, and playoffs in March will determine the final six berths. During the draw, FIFA divided the 42 teams and six placeholders into 12 pots of four teams each.

The US, as a host nation, is gaining a significant advantage as the first seed in its pot, as are the other two hosts, Canada and Mexico. The other nine top seeds are the highest-ranked nations in the world: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

The US men’s national team, ranked 14th in the world, has never won a World Cup. Its best-ever finish was a third-place result at the first tournament in 1930. The US women’s national team, by contrast, is the most successful in history with four World Cup wins.

Sports Platform

The draw at the Kennedy Center came months after Trump ousted the cultural hub’s bipartisan leadership over criticism of what he called “woke” programming and installed allies in their place — as well as himself as board chair.

The event was co-hosted by comedian Kevin Hart, supermodel and television personality Heidi Klum and actor and producer Danny Ramirez. It featured live performances by musicians including Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger, as well as the other acts.

The president has frequently used sports as a platform to promote his own profile and policies.

He attended the 2025 Club World Cup final and stood on stage for the trophy ceremony with the winners. Trump invited Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo to a gala dinner with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and hosted Italian powerhouse club Juventus at the White House earlier this year.

Trump has also appeared at the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup, Daytona 500, US Open Tennis Championships, as well as multiple UFC fights, a New York Yankees game and the NCAA wrestling championships.

Source: Bloomberg

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Commodity

Silver touched a fresh record high and capped its second weekly gain as strong inflows to exchange-traded funds added more impetus to a scorching rally.

The white metal rose as much as 3.9% on Friday to an all-time high of $59.33 an ounce. Total additions to silver-backed ETFs in the four days through Thursday are already the highest for any full week since July, a strong indicator of investor appetite despite signs silver’s gains may be overdone. Silver Hits Fresh Record as Strong ETF Inflows Sustain Rally_1

Silver Hits Fresh Record as Strong ETF Inflows Sustain Rally_1

“These flows can quickly amplify price moves and trigger short-term short squeezes,” said Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd. For much of this week, the metal’s 14-day relative strength index has whipsawed either side of 70 — a threshold above which traders are likely to deem the metal as overbought.

Silver prices have roughly doubled this year, outpacing a 60% rise in gold. The rally accelerated in the last two months, in part thanks to a historic squeeze in London. While that crunch has eased in recent weeks as more metal was shipped to the world’s biggest silver trading hub, other markets are now seeing supply constraints. Chinese inventories are near their lowest in a decade.

“Silver’s outsized rally signals it’s no longer gold’s quiet sidecar,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at Vantage Markets in Melbourne. “The market is waking up to structural scarcity and fast-rising industrial demand, not just the haven story.”

The metal’s recent surge has also been supported by rising expectations the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates at its meeting next week. Swap contracts indicate a near-certainty the Fed will reduce the cost of borrowing — typically a positive for non-yielding precious metals. These bets withstood the latest US data, which showed the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge in September rose in line with economists’ expectations.

Silver could rise to $62 an ounce in the coming three months “on the back of Fed cuts, robust investment demand, and physical deficit,” Citigroup Inc. analysts including Max Layton wrote in a note.

Not just valued as an investment asset, silver also has many useful real-world properties that make it a component in a range of products, such as circuit boards, solar panels and coatings for medical devices. Global demand for the metal has outpaced output from mines for five consecutive years.

Silver rose to $ an ounce as of in New York. It’s up more than 3.3% for the week, following last week’s 13% surge. Gold slipped to $ an ounce, while platinum and palladium also rose. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index inched lower.

Source: Bloomberg

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Commodity

Oil gained, finishing the week positive as investors assessed the murky outlook for a cease-fire in Ukraine and as the commodity pushed past an important technical level.

West Texas Intermediate rose 0.7% to settle above $60 a barrel, signaling that a risk premium persists as a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine remains elusive. Ukrainian negotiators continued talks with US officials in Florida for a second day, with Russia objecting to some of the points in a US-backed plan.

The market is watching for progress on a settlement that could lower prices by potentially easing sanctions and boosting Russian oil flows just as an expected oversupply in the market starts to materialize.

But an agreement appears distant: Ukraine took credit for an overnight attack on Russia’s Syzran refinery and the Temryuk seaport. Meanwhile, Washington reportedly lobbied European countries in an effort to block a plan to use Moscow’s frozen assets to back a massive loan for Ukraine.

Adding to bullish momentum, WTI on Friday settled above its 50-day moving average, a key level of support for the commodity. Prices have also received a boost from algorithmic traders covering some of their bearish positions in recent sessions — and analysts say more buying could materialize in coming weeks.

“This session should mark the first notable short covering program since algo selling activity exhausted itself, and the bar is low for subsequent CTA buying activity to hit the tapes over the coming week,” said Dan Ghali, a commodity strategist at TD Securities. Oil Rises as Traders Focus on Murky Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks_1

Oil Rises as Traders Focus on Murky Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks_1

Countering geopolitical risks, oversupply is putting downward pressure on prices globally. Saudi Aramco will reduce the price of its flagship Arab Light crude grade to the lowest level since 2021 for January, while Canadian oil has tumbled. And the number of crude oil rigs in the US rose by 6 over the past week, according to Baker Hughes.

Source: Bloomberg

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Bond

Central Bank

Treasuries are on track for their worst week in six months as conflicting economic data have challenged expectations for how much the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates next year.

Yields were higher by four basis points early afternoon in New York, with the 30-year bond’s reaching 4.80%, last seen in late September. While a much bigger selloff in Canadian government bonds Friday, sparked by stronger-than-expected employment data, was a factor, US yields had already risen to weekly highs. US Bonds Head for Worst Week in Six Months Amid Doubts on Fed_1

US Bonds Head for Worst Week in Six Months Amid Doubts on Fed_1

The US 10-year yield at 4.14% is more than 10 basis points higher since Nov. 28, the most in a week since June. Fed policymakers remain widely expected to cut interest rates at their meeting next week, however expectations for additional cuts next year have been pared amid mixed signals on the health of the US labor market.

“Expectations have been adjusted in a more hawkish direction for the Fed,” said Steven Zeng, an interest-rate strategist at Deutsche Bank. “Investors are growing skeptical of more rate cuts next year.”

Meanwhile, Friday’s delayed release of September personal income and spending data, which includes the inflation gauge the Fed aims to keep around 2%, showed that it accelerated to 2.8%, as economists estimated. Several Fed policymakers have said the inflation trend should forestall rate cuts.

Thirty-year Treasury yields are more than 12 basis points higher, the most in a week since early April, when havoc erupted in financial markets globally after the US administration rolled out its tariffs agenda.

US administration comments this week about the potential for changes in Fed leadership — beyond its plans for a successor to Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May — “have reinvigorated uncertainty, which is reflected in the price action,” said Dhiraj Narula, an interest-rate strategist at HSBC Securities. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week said long-term residency in the district should be an eligibility requirement for regional bank presidents.

The market for long-maturity interest rates in particular “doesn’t like uncertainty around what the potential path for policy might be,” Narula said. “When policy uncertainty goes up, investors need larger premiums to sit in longer tenors.”

Also hampering the Treasury market into next week, auctions of three-, 10- and 30-year debt are slated to begin Monday, a day earlier than usual to avoid coinciding with the Dec. 10 Fed announcement. Besides the rate decision, those will include policymakers’ quarterly summary of economic projections. Fed governors and regional bank presidents anonymously indicate their expectations for key indicators and interest rates over the next several years.

“Markets are probably looking ahead to the bond auctions and waiting for the December FOMC to hint at future direction,” said Evelyne Gomez-Liechti, a strategist at Mizuho International Plc.

Furthermore, next week is anticipated to bring most of the last of this year’s investment-grade corporate bond supply, concentrated on Monday and Tuesday ahead of the Fed.

The bulk of this week’s move in yields came on Monday, fueled by a deluge of corporate debt sales and a warning of potential rate hikes from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. Any signal that the BOJ might tighten policy can ripple across global bond markets, pushing yields higher elsewhere.

Source: Bloomberg

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Stocks

Two of the most popular streaming services have agreed to combine, in a move that could change the streaming service landscape.

Netflix said Friday it will acquire the studio and streaming business of Warner Bros. Discovery, the legacy Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and “Friends,” for $72 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months — after Warner completes its previously-announced separation of its cable operations. Not included in the deal are networks like CNN and Discovery.

Warner Bros. Discovery said in October it was open to selling all or parts of its business.

Here's a look at what the two streaming services offer and what might change if the deal completes regulatory hurdles and closes.

Netflix

Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, is the world's biggest streaming service, although its growth has slowed from peak years. It stopped giving specific subscriber numbers in 2024, but quarterly results in October signaled its worldwide subscriber count has increased from the roughly 302 million it had at the end of 2024.

Although it is best known for its scripted TV shows and movies such as “Stranger Things," “Squid Game,” “Bridgerton,” and "KPop Demon Hunters,” Netflix has been expanding into other arenas. It started offering a low-priced option of its service with advertising three years ago and has introduced video games and live sports, too.

In a statement on Friday Netflix said the acquisition will add shows and movies including “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Wizard of Oz” and the DC Universe comic book franchise to its library.

Warner Bros, Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, based in New York, was formed just three years ago after when AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and it was merged with Discovery Communications in a $43 billion deal.

In June, the company outlined plans to split its cable and streaming offerings — with HBO, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, to become part of a new streaming and studios company; while networks like CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports and digital products such as the Discovery+ streaming service and Bleacher Report would make up a separate cable counterpart.

Warner expected the split to be complete by mid-2026, and the Netflix acquisition is expected to close after that.

Source: AP

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Stocks

If Amazon Web Services’ annual re:Invent tech conference proves anything, it’s that the cloud infrastructure player is going all in on AI.

AWS announced made dozens of announcements from new AI agents and updated large language models, to products with LLM and agent-building capabilities. AI for enterprise was everywhere. But are its customers just as eager?

AWS CEO Matt Garman acknowledged during his keynote that enterprises haven’t seen a return on AI investment yet. He thinks that’s about to change — and fast.

“I believe that the advent of AI agents has brought us to an inflection point in AI’s trajectory,” Garman said. “It’s turning from a technical wonder into something that delivers us real value. This change is going to have as much impact on your business as the internet or the cloud.”

While analysts told TechCrunch they were impressed by some of AWS’ tech announcements this week, they aren’t sure it’s enough to move the needle on enterprise AI adoption or change AWS’ position in the AI race.

AWS is one of the market leaders when it comes to cloud infrastructure; the same can’t be said for its enterprise AI offerings.

Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google hold a commanding lead when it comes to enterprise market share for actual AI models. AWS does have the advantage of having everything in house, including infrastructure and its own AI training chips.

Naveen Chhabra, a principal analyst at Forrester, told TechCrunch over email that while AWS announced a lot of cool new technology, it doesn’t change the fact that many enterprises aren’t ready to adopt AI.

“AWS AI announcements show that AWS is thinking ahead and maybe far too ahead,” Chhabra wrote. “Most enterprises are still piloting AI projects and are rarely at the levels of maturity AWS expects them to be to take advantage of the offerings that come out of these announcements.”

A widely cited MIT study from August found that 95% of enterprises aren’t seeing a return on investment from AI.

Ethan Feller, an equity strategist at Zacks Investment Research, told TechCrunch in a phone interview that the new Nova AI models, agents, and model-building capabilities weren’t what stood out to him as interesting from this week — despite these being the products AWS hyped the most. Instead, it was the infrastructure announcements.

“The AWS AI factory is really compelling,” Feller said about a new initiative that allows customers to run AWS AI in their own data centers. “AWS is a huge player in where the models are being run and is dominant in the cloud industry. I think that is where Amazon’s expertise really lies. It’s a good thing to double down on where they have expertise.”

Feller likes that AWS is looking to make a vertical AI play, but he thinks it may make more sense to do so through partnerships with other AI players like Anthropic and Nvidia as opposed to using all of their own AI technology.

Despite all of this, AWS is still well positioned to carve out market share in the AI sector, while continuing to grow its core businesses.

AWS’ position as an industry-leading cloud provider means it has a solid business foundation despite what happens in the AI market because it provides the rails for the industry’s technology — regardless of what the AI trend of the moment is.

If the AI industry ends up being the bubble some say it is, AWS, which recorded $11.4 billion in operating income in the third quarter, will likely be less affected by a negative change in AI market conditions than its peers.

This gives AWS room to experiment and iterate on what its place in the AI market could look like down the road. That’s why even if enterprises aren’t ready for the tech they release today, AWS should keep working to improve it.