NATO Faces Its Ultimate Reckoning

Wall Street Breakfast 5.74M Followers Subscribe 5 Share Save Play ( 5min ) Comments Listen on the go! A daily podcast of Wall Street Breakfast will be available by 8:00 a.m. on Seeking Alpha , iTunes , Spotify . Getty Images Good morning! Here's the latest in trending: What goes up? SpaceX ( SPCX ) lands bullish ratings as it joins the Nasdaq 100. 'Truly patriotic': Trump hails plan by Walmart ( WMT ) to reduce prices . Youth addiction: U.S. states seek $1.4T in civil penalties from Meta ( META ). The repair mission The stakes couldn't be higher. Leaders of NATO nations are heading to Ankara, Turkey, for an annual summit that'll take place today and tomorrow. Tensions between the U.S. and other members of the alliance have hit an all-time high under President Trump, ranging from defense spending quotas to the takeover of Greenland and support for the Iran war. Things have also gotten personal in recent days, with Trump taking to social media to post that a restraining order was needed for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Backdrop: While there might be some smiles in front of the cameras and calls for unity, serious trouble is brewing for the alliance. "Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!" Trump declared back in March, when reports surfaced of a "pay-to-play" model , where voting rights would be removed from member states that don't meet a 5% of GDP defense spending target. Since then, the U.S. has announced the withdrawal of 5,000 active-duty troops from Germany, the cancellation of scheduled deployments of air and naval assets, and the launch of a review surrounding American military posture in Europe . If things go right at the summit, expect a joint declaration from European nations and Canada on increasing their core defense investments and assuming greater responsibility for NATO security. The emphasis will be on "creating an alliance which is sustainable, where the U.S. knows it is a fair deal," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of the gathering. Big arms deals, worth billions of dollars, are also likely to be announced, leading some investors to weigh in on defense industry trades. Europe can adapt to U.S. force reductions, but capability gaps remain What else to know: Turkey might finally get U.S. permission to rejoin the F-35 stealth fighter program or secure F-35 engines, though details will have to be worked out concerning its Russian S-400 air defense system. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also make an appearance, with NATO leaders expected to outline their support and its limits amid the ongoing war with Russia. Another outsider leader who is traveling to the summit is Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is slated to meet with President Trump on the sidelines to discuss regional security and stability. ( 10 comments ) Here's the latest Seeking Alpha analysis 7-14% Yields: My Top High-Yielding Fund Picks For H2 2026 Micron At $1,750 Is Now My Base Case Lumentum: The Pullback Before The Breakout The Millionaire Boom Is Real - But So Is The Market Trap Nvidia: Won't Be This Insanely Cheap For Too Long What else is happening... WSB survey results: H2 growth expectations for the S&P 500 . More layoffs at Microsoft ( MSFT ), including major Xbox overhaul . Vertex ( VRTX ) to buy Crinetics Pharma ( CRNX ) in $10B deal . U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and digital assets face legal hurdle . Broadcom ( AVGO ) gains after landing chip deal with Apple ( AAPL ). Japanese firms flag risks of China's rare earth export controls . Toyota ( TM ) to invest $3.6B to shift Tacoma production to Texas . Lockheed's ( LMT ) Sikorsky to fund White House helipad - Trump. Fresh Iranian strikes on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz . Cuba suffers third nationwide blackout this year as grid collapses . Today's Markets In Asia, Japan -2.1% . Hong Kong -0.5% . China -1.3% . India -0.1% . In Europe, at midday, London +0.3% . Paris +0.2% . Frankfurt -0.7% . Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.2% . S&P -0.1% . Nasdaq -0.9% . Crude +1% to $69.20. Gold -0.5% to $4,147.40. Bitcoin +0.5% to $63,213. Ten-year Treasury Yield +2 bps to 4.50%. On The Calendar Companies reporting today include Penguin Solutions ( PENG ). See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today's economic calendar . This article was written by Wall Street Breakfast 5.74M Followers Subscribe Wall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business newsletter, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. It is designed for easy readability on the site or by email (including mobile devices) and is published before 7:30 AM ET every market day. Wall Street Breakfast's readership of more than 1 million subscribers includes many from the investment banking and fund management industries. Sign up here to receive the Wall Street Breakfast in your inbox every business day.