• The UK's SPEAR 3 air-to-surface cruise missile is facing further delays.
• The UK MOD called the missile, designed for F-35B Lightnings, the "cruise missile of the future."
• But its expected timeline for in-service capability has been pushed to the early 2030s.

The UK's new missile, which its defense ministry has called the "cruise missile of the future," has been further delayed.

The SPEAR 3 air-to-surface cruise missile is intended for use by F-35B Lightnings in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. Its manufacturer, European multinational MBDA, says it will be the "primary air launched, precision effects, surface attack weapon" of the RAF.

But the missile's expected timeline for in-service capability has now been pushed back to the early 2030s, Maria Eagle, the UK's minister of state for defense procurement and industry, said.

In response to an opposition lawmaker, Eagle said the weapon program was "undergoing re-baselining," which means its progress is being reconsidered.

She said that a Review Note was expected toward the end of 2025, and "until that is approved, dates are considered draft and of low confidence."

"The estimated current timeline for in-service capability is expected to be early 2030s," she added.

This represents another in a series of delays for the project. The missiles were once expected to be integrated by 2025, which was then pushed back to the last quarter of 2028.

The SPEAR 3 missile was successfully launched from an aircraft for the first time last year, the RAF said. It was launched by a Eurofighter Typhon jet in a test over Sweden.

The RAF described the SPEAR missile as "a next generation turbojet-powered miniature cruise missile," to be used by both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots.

It said each F-35B will be able to carry up to eight SPEAR missiles at a time.

The UK chose to develop its own cruise missile with MBDA after considering purchasing an available model from US defense company Raytheon.

The RAF said the missiles can hit targets at a distance of 62 miles, and MBDA said they will be effective against naval vessels, main battle tanks, ballistic missile launchers, and fast-moving vehicles, among other targets.

The missile also has a semi-active laser mode, which allows operators to designate a target using a laser, which the missile's seeker then follows.

Gustav Gressel, a missile expert at the National Defence Academy of the Austrian Armed Forces, described the latest SPEAR delay as part of a pattern.

"Aircraft armament in Europe, unfortunately, is a story of delays and cost overruns," he told Business Insider.

The UK has purchased 48 F-35Bs, made by Lockheed Martin, for use by both its air force and navy, though not all have been delivered. It intends to buy a total of 138 jets, though some reports have suggested that number could be reassessed amid cost concerns.

Some countries have said they are reconsidering their commitment to the F-35, as the US distances itself from longtime allies and amid speculation the US could make the jets ineffective by removing critical support.

But a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Business Insider in March that the UK "maintains the freedom of action to operate the F-35 Lightning at a time and place of our choosing."

The RAF described SPEAR last year as part of a portfolio that supports $8.7 billion of planned investment in the UK weapons industry by the MOD over the next decade.

It said this included Brimstone, CAMM, Sea Viper, Sea Venom, and Storm Shadow.

• Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi just unveiled its second EV, the YU7.
• Morgan Stanley analysts predicted that the electric SUV would be another threat to Tesla in China.
• Tesla's sales have struggled in China amid fierce local competition.

One of Tesla's biggest Chinese rivals just unveiled a new EV — and it could be a major headache for Elon Musk.

Smartphone maker Xiaomi showed off the YU7 at an event in Beijing on Thursday, with the electric SUV set to compete directly with Tesla's best-selling Model Y.

Xiaomi said the YU7 was a "luxury high-performance SUV," with high-tech features including intelligent door handles and a panoramic "hypervision" display below the windshield.

The company said the YU7 has a maximum speed of 253 kilometers (157 miles) an hour and can hit 100 km/h in 3.23 seconds.

It will have a maximum range of 835km (518 miles) and can add 620km (400 miles) of range in 15 minutes of charging, Xiaomi said.

Xiaomi did not say how much the YU7, its second EV, will cost. In a social media post before the unveiling, CEO Lei Jun said the SUV would go on sale in July.

The YU7 threatens to pile the pain on Tesla, which is already battling underwhelming sales in China amid brutal competition from local rivals.

Morgan Stanley analysts led by Adam Jonas and Andy Meng wrote in a note previewing the YU7's launch that the new SUV would be another challenge to Tesla.

"We find market expectations around Tesla's near-term automotive business remain too high and do not fully reflect the quantum of incremental capacity and competition coming out of China, ultimately having an impact in international markets. Understanding this will help make more sense out of Tesla's 'all-in' push into autonomy," they wrote.

The bank's analysts predicted the YU7 would replicate the sales success of Xiaomi's SU7, which notched up 120,000 pre-orders in 36 hours when it went on sale last year, saying the Model Y rival had "stunning design" combining the looks of a Ferrari or Aston Martin with the price tag of a Volkswagen.

"The YU7 is just the latest sign that Chinese tech firms are taking EV performance and cost to the next level. China may have already won the EV battle," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote. Both the SU7 and YU7 were years ahead of comparable models offered by Ford, they added.

While both Xiaomi cars are only available in China, that may not be the case for long. Xiaomi confirmed in March that it aimed to sell EVs in overseas markets by 2027.

Morgan Stanley's analysts estimated that competition from Chinese rivals would affect Tesla's international sales.

They wrote that market expectations around Tesla's near-term automotive business remain "too high," adding that the quality of China's EV offerings justified Musk's push to pivot the company toward autonomous vehicles.

Xiaomi's EV push hasn't all been plain sailing. Its sales have reportedly dipped over the past month amid claims of misleading marketing on the high-end SU7 Ultra and concerns over a fatal crash involving an SU7 in March.

The crash, in which three people died after their SU7 hit a cement barrier shortly after disengaging from driver assist mode, sparked a regulatory crackdown on autonomous driving features in China.

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• BMW and Mercedes were outsold at the top of China's car market last year by a domestic brand.
• Aito sold 151,000 vehicles, with its M9 SUV proving popular.
• The brand is owned by Seres, which has tripled sales in three years with its pivot to EVs.

A Chinese electric vehicle brand has overtaken longtime market leaders BMW and Mercedes-Benz at the top of the world's biggest auto market.

Aito, an EV brand launched by Seres Group and tech giant Huawei, topped China's high-end car sales last year with 151,000 units delivered — surpassing BMW's 145,000 and Mercedes-Benz's 127,000, according to data from Shanghai-based consultancy ThinkerCar.

Aito's rise is largely due to the success of its flagship M9, a luxury SUV that went on sale in late 2023.

The M9 quickly proved popular with Chinese drivers thanks to its tech-heavy features, including Huawei's HarmonyOS operating system, a triple-screen dashboard, and premium interior options.

Seres, previously known for low-cost minivans under its DFSK Motor brand, repositioned itself with the Aito brand after forming a strategic partnership with Huawei in 2021.

Since then, rapid growth has resulted. Vehicle sales tripled over three years to about 427,000 units last year, and its stock rose by 120% on the Shanghai exchange over the same period.

Aito's success reflects a major shift in China's premium auto segment, which was once dominated by foreign brands. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz was top with 259,000 sales, followed by BMW on 235,000 and Porsche on 79,000, per ThinkerCar data.

By 2024, Chinese EV makers such as Aito and NIO had broken into the rankings, disrupting what ThinkerCar described as a BMW, Benz, and Audi "monopoly."

Sales of Chinese EVs are also rising outside their home market.

BYD outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time in April, according to JATO Dynamics data released on Thursday.

BYD also outsold Tesla globally in the first three months of the year, selling about 416,000 EVs, compared with Tesla's 336,700 EVs.

• A German brigade has started operations in Lithuania, a NATO state that borders part of Russia.
• It's the first time Germany has put troops in another country on a long-term basis since World War II.
• Both countries describe it as a step to protect Europe and NATO.

Germany has stationed troops abroad on a long-term basis for the first time since World War II, with a new brigade starting operations in Lithuania on Thursday.

The inauguration ceremony for Germany's 45th Armoured Brigade "Lithuania" took place in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital. Lithuania's defense ministry said it marked "the official beginning of this military unit's operations in Lithuania."

The move has been framed by both Lithuania and Germany as one intended to protect Europe and NATO at large, particularly against Russia.

Some have warned that Russia might not stop at Ukraine, and could attack elsewhere in Europe.

Dovilė Šakalienė, Lithuania's defense minister, said in a statement on Thursday that Germany's troops "are here to defend freedom as well as the entire alliance."

She also called Germany's deployment of its troops "a historic example of leadership."

Brig. Gen. Christoph Huber, the commander of the 45th Armored Brigade, said in April that it was being created "for the alliance, for Lithuania, for Europe's security."

The move is a notable one for Germany, which has leaned away from heavy defense actions and spending since World War II.

But Germany's defense spending has grown since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this month that his government will provide resources to make its army the "strongest conventional army in Europe."

Lithuania, a NATO member state that borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, as well as Russian ally Belarus, has been one of Ukraine's most vocal allies since Russia launched its invasion.

It is also one of NATO's biggest defense spenders as a proportion of its GDP, and one of the countries warning the loudest about future Russian aggression.

Lithuania's defense ministry said on Thursday that there are already around 500 soldiers from Germany in the country, and that the German brigade will now be permanently relocated to Lithuania, including three manoeuvre battalions and all of its combat support and logistics.

The brigade aims to be at full capacity by the end of 2027, which would mean 5,000 German soldiers and civilians operating there.

Šakalienė said that Lithuania "will continue to do everything to create all the infrastructure on time, to provide the necessary host nation support, and to ensure that the German soldiers feel at home."

US troops are also serving in Lithuania, something Šakalienė told BI in February she hoped would continue, even as President Donald Trump distances himself from longtime allies in Europe.

Šakalienė said her country wanted US troops to stay and said she expected the US could see "eye to eye" with countries that pay enough on defense.

Šakalienė also told BI that Europe "needs to up our defense spending very fast and very significantly," and that Europe's defense production needs to increase to match Russia's.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a flurry of defense agreements between countries, and a boost in military spending and production across Europe.

• Sergey Brin gave away more than 4 million Alphabet shares worth nearly $700 million.
• The gift is split between Class A and Class C stock, which carry different voting rights.
• Brin has a history of large donations, including one worth $600 million in May 2023.

Sergey Brin just gave away stock worth almost $700 million — but we don't know who to.

The Google cofounder transferred just over 4 million Alphabet shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday.

Brin is 10th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of about $144 billion. He's behind the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, and ahead of Michael Dell and Jensen Huang.

The gift was split between Class A and Class C stock. Each A share carries one vote, while C stock have no voting rights.

A stock closed at $168.56 on Wednesday, and C closed at about $170, bringing the total value to just over $693 million.

Shares in the search giant jumped on Wednesday following Google's I/O developer conference the previous day, where about two dozen new models, features, and updates were unveiled.

It said it would launch AI Mode, which allows US users to chat with Google while browsing the web, resulting in a more conversational search experience.

The recipient of Brin's gift could be a charity, a financial vehicle, or a trust.

He has previously made large gifts, giving away stock about $600 million in May 2023 after the launch of Google's AI search, Bloomberg reported. In May and November 2024, he made gifts of shares worth more than $100 million.

Brin has a personal foundation, the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, which disbursed about $250 million in both 2020 and 2021.

He's also donated more than $1 billion to research into Parkinson's disease and funding a nonprofit focused on the climate crisis.

Brin's family office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to build Europe's strongest military for Germany.
• Germany's shift in defense policy followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and NATO goals.
• Experts highlighted challenges like underinvestment, recruitment, and political consensus.

Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, vowed last week that the country will build "the strongest conventional army in Europe."

It comes as Germany and others adapt to the drive for European countries to rapidly rearm in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — but contrasts with recent decades when the country has preferred soft power over military strength.

So, how feasible is it for Germany to be the continent's biggest military power?

"For now, the money is there, and Germans have deep pockets," Ulrich Kühn, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Business Insider.

"What is missing is a general cross-party consensus on the issue, including the left wing of the governing Social Democrats, who are more skeptical of projecting military power," he said.

Last month, Germany announced that it was deploying troops to Lithuania on a long-term basis—the first long-term deployment of German soldiers to another country since World War II, another sign of its changing military approach.

Kühn added that the commitment to increase Germany's defense spending "can only be the beginning if the goal is really to position itself as Europe's defense champion."

"What the German arms industry needs are long-term contracts well into the 2030s and state subsidies to rapidly scale up production," he said.

As of May 2024, Germany's army, the Bundeswehr, had 180,215 active-duty personnel.

Jörn Fleck, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center, told BI that a targeted increase of the German armed forces to 200,000 had been delayed until 2031 "due to lackluster recruitment and an ageing force."

But he said that Germany "has taken important initial steps to rebuild the German military into one of Europe's leading conventional forces."

Fleck cited a €100 billion special fund to modernize the military, announced in 2022, and constitutional changes to partially exempt defense spending from Germany's debt brake, which was imposed after the 2008 financial crisis and limits the deficit to just 0.35% of GDP. By contrast, the US deficit exceeded 6% last year.

But Fleck warned that Germany "will have to overcome two if not three decades of underinvestment in its armed forces."

"The resulting force reductions, readiness problems, capability gaps, and infrastructure challenges will take years to reverse," he added. "They will not be solved by money alone and will require sustained political will and leadership."

One positive for Germany is its thriving defense industry, which includes major players like Rheinmetall and KNDS, along with medium-sized companies and innovative startups.

In 2024, Rheinmetall saw sales related to its defense business increase by 50% year-on-year.

Germany's defense industry strategy, focused on key technologies, greater economies of scale, and the potential of the European market, is a "positive step in the right direction," Fleck said, but he added that the country will "have to fundamentally reform its procurement agency and processes" to boost its defense industry.

He also said that advancing Germany's military capabilities will move the needle across Europe, given the country's political and economic weight on the continent.

This has already been visible when it comes to the REARM initiative that opened the door for countries to spend more on defense, and the proposal for common EU borrowing to fund joint development and procurement.

"If Germany, Europe's reluctant hegemon with its fraught history, can get its act together on defense," Kühn said. "So can others."

• BYD sold more electric cars than Tesla in Europe for the first time in April.
• Sales of the Chinese brand jumped as Tesla grapples with backlash over Elon Musk's politics.
• Tesla's European sales have collapsed this year, despite Musk insisting it doesn't have a demand problem.

BYD just scored a major win against Tesla in one of its biggest markets.

The Chinese electric vehicle giant outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, as Elon Musk's automaker saw its sales collapse amid furious backlash over its CEO's politics.

BYD sold 7,230 battery-electric vehicles in April, compared to 7,165 for Tesla, according to JATO Dynamics data.

It's a major milestone for the Chinese brand, and suggests BYD has taken advantage of Tesla's alarming decline in Europe.

ƒNew Tesla registrations dropped nearly 50% in April compared to the same month last year, while BYD sales surged 169% over the same period, per JATO Dynamics data.

BYD outsold Tesla without even taking hybrid sales into account. The Chinese carmaker sold 12,525 vehicles last month, meaning its total sales comfortably outstripped Tesla, which only sells battery-powered EVs.

Tesla has taken a battering this year in Europe, its third-largest market after the US and China. The automaker's European sales were down 30% in the first three months of 2025, according to JATO Dynamics, despite EV sales rising overall.

The automaker has faced a wave of backlash over CEO Musk's role in the Trump administration and endorsement of German far-right party AfD.

In an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Musk denied Tesla was facing a sales slump. That was despite Tesla reporting its weakest quarter for deliveries since 2022 last month as it retooled factories for the launch of its updated Model Y.

"Europe is our weakest market. We're strong everywhere else. Sales are doing well at this point, we don't anticipate any meaningful sales shortfall," said Musk.

By contrast, BYD is racing to launch new models as it seeks to capitalize on its explosive growth in Europe.

The Chinese brand unveiled the Dolphin Surf, the European version of its cheap Seagull EV, on Wednesday.

The compact hatchback will go on sale in 15 European markets in June, with prices starting at 23,000 euros ($26,000) — about $19,000 less than Tesla's cheapest model.

Having challenged Tesla in China, BYD is eyeing aggressive expansion overseas. The EV giant sold 79,000 vehicles outside China last month, nearly double the total in April 2024.

• Elon Musk is stepping back from DOGE to focus on Tesla, as the company faces many challenges.
• BI spoke to four people who worked with him about what the billionaire is like as a company leader.
• One said Musk was Tesla's "product manager," but questioned whether he is what the embattled company needs.

Elon Musk is turning his attention back to Tesla — and apparently for the long haul. The question is whether Musk's re-dedication to Tesla is what the electric carmaker needs right now.

The billionaire said this week he was committed to leading Tesla for the next five years, adding he would only stop running it "if I'm dead."

Investors have applauded Musk's renewed commitment to Tesla, with the stock up more than 40% since he signaled he was stepping back from the Trump administration and its DOGE cost-cutting efforts.

Musk's DOGE work — and the ensuing vandalism and protests that targeted his company — had normally bullish analysts urging him to refocus on Tesla. Days after Musk announced he was stepping back from DOGE to do that, Tesla's chair denied a report it had explored replacing him as CEO.

Business Insider spoke with former employees at Musk's companies — three Tesla, one SpaceX — about what he is like as a business leader and what his re-dedication to Tesla means at a time when the company is suffering from falling sales, growing competition from rivals like BYD, and a critical robotaxi launch next month.

Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

The innovator in chief

Musk's importance to Tesla is undeniable.

Chris Walti, who led development of the Optimus humanoid robot before leaving Tesla in 2022 to found robotics startup Mytra, said he saw how the company's flat management structure meant Musk had a larger influence over Tesla's product direction than most CEOs.

He said that during his time at the company, Musk was "the product manager for the whole company." "That direction comes down, and then the engineers execute," he added.

Gene Berdichevsky, a former Tesla tech lead and the company's seventh employee, worked there when Musk was a major investor and board member. He said the billionaire brought a fanatical attention to detail even before he became CEO in 2008.

Berdichevsky recalled when the company was building the first prototype of its Roadster. "We spent the afternoon after the board meeting driving it around the parking lot and getting into all the details," he said.

He added that having Musk more focused on Tesla would up its chances of beating rivals to "the next big thing."

"The revolutionary product isn't obvious when it first shows up. But I think that Elon's always pushing for something revolutionary, and you don't have to always be right, because when you are, you get really, really good outcomes," said Berdichevsky, who now runs battery materials firm Sila Nanotechnologies.

Scrappiness vs scale

Tobias Kahnert, the CEO of powertrain startup EFT Mobility, was a senior Tesla software engineer when the company was struggling to ramp up production of the Model 3.

Musk has previously said he slept on the factory floor as Tesla grappled with the "production hell" of scaling the mass-market EV.

Kahnert told BI that Musk and other Tesla leaders pushed to balance the "scrappiness" of innovating quickly with the need to convert Tesla's startup mentality into "something that actually scales."

"Even being there, you sometimes thought, 'OK, this isn't the normal way of how we would do it.' Then often it only turned out a lot later that this approach was the right one," he said.

Musk is famously demanding. Walti said he would get "texts on Sunday at 3 a.m. and was expected to respond in 15 minutes."

"That's not for everyone. Some people just get burned out," he said.

While Musk runs companies with a range of focuses, Tesla will benefit from him being an "extremely good design engineer," said Quincy Lee, who worked at SpaceX for six years and helped roll out its Starlink satellite network.

"I've been in meetings with him, and I spent a lot of time with his executive staff," said Lee, who now runs EV charging startup Electric Era.

"He's extremely good at physics, and he's really good at manufacturing. And of course, he's a good businessman, and he's able to pull all of that into a really strong set of skills," Lee told BI.

Difference-maker or distraction?

Musk is known for pushing Tesla in ambitious new directions. But when the company's Q1 delivery figures showed it was in trouble, none of the analysts BI spoke to said it needed to take a big swing to make a comeback.

They said it should launch new models, improve its battery tech, and advertise more. The company has not launched a new vehicle since the Cybertruck in 2023, and sales of the electric pickup have underwhelmed.

Walti told BI Musk seemed "kind of bored with just building good products that the market needs."

"If it's not audacious, and if it's not against the grain, it feels like it doesn't personally interest him," he added.

"His connection with the customer 10 years ago was awesome. Elon had a really good sense of what the customer wanted. I don't know if that's the case anymore," Walti continued.

Tesla is racing to launch a robotaxi service in Austin next month, and Musk has said that Tesla's future lies in self-driving cars and Optimus.

Tesla has said it will also launch an affordable electric car model this year, but has not provided details. Reuters reported in April that the new EV could be a stripped-down version of Tesla's Model Y.

Walti said that he'd like to see the company build more mass-market EVs, but added, "Part of me is like, I don't know if Musk is the right person for the role. Not because he couldn't do a good job, but because I don't think he is genuinely excited about it."

But Kahnert said that Musk had an ability to push through decisions that others wouldn't agree with, making him a "differentiator" that other carmakers lack.

He said it is hard to say whether that was what the company needed, adding it was, "always hard, even while you are inside Tesla, to see and to acknowledge how much he benefits Tesla at times and how much he is distracting Tesla at times."

Border Force officers detected the drugs in two suitcases at an airport

• Staff in one of Deloitte's four UK divisions will get lower bonuses after missing profit targets.
• The firm will also promote fewer staff this year, according to an internal email seen by BI.
• The promotions move was demotivating and has "dampened" the office mood, a Deloitte employee said.

Deloitte told employees in one of its UK consulting divisions to expect lower annual bonuses following weaker-than-expected financial performance.

Richard Houston, a senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, wrote in a companywide email on Tuesday that employees in the technology and transformation (T&T) consulting division would receive an average of 80% of their annual bonus.

Partners in the division will also face a drop in annual rewards, Houston said in the memo seen by Business Insider.

The memo was first reported by The Financial Times.

The T&T business had "faced a particularly challenging year and fell materially short of its performance goals," Houston wrote.

Bonuses have always been linked to individual and firm performance. However, for the 2025 financial year, they will also take into account performance variations in each of Deloitte's four business lines.

The shift means that workers in Deloitte's other three business lines — which cover deals, tax and legal, and audit and assurance services — will retain their full bonus.

Those three divisions have either exceeded targets or, in the case of the audit and assurance branch, had still increased profits in the 2025 financial year, Houston wrote.

Deloitte will also promote fewer employees than in previous years, Houston said.

The firm would promote 5,500 employees, or about 25% of the UK workforce, at the start of the next financial year, he said. In the previous year, 28% were promoted, Houston said.

A Deloitte consultant in the T&T division said the news about promotions was demotivating and had "dampened" the mood. They added that their division had taken "a beating."

It's "not the best feeling since T&T functions have historically pulled the firm forward in times of crisis," the employee added.

Deloitte UK's total profits for its 2025 financial year, which ends on May 31, would be "slightly ahead of last year" but "below our original plan," Houston wrote.

"At the start of FY25, we expected greater economic stability and a gradual return of growth opportunities. But an early election, geopolitical complexity, and unexpected economic headwinds — like changes in trade policies — have continued to cause market uncertainty," he said.

Deloitte's global revenue climbed 3.1% to $67.2 billion in the 2024 financial year, which marked a sharp slowdown in growth compared to the 14.9% increase in 2023.

The firm's UK arm has reorganized its business divisions and laid off workers as it grappled with an industrywide slowdown in demand for consulting services that has hit revenue growth.

Cost-cutting

In October 2024, Deloitte UK cut its spending on staff travel and expenses by more than 50%.

Houston addressed the cost-cutting measures in Tuesday's email, acknowledging "it has not been easy" for teams to be unable to meet in person for much of the year.

He said the efforts to manage costs had "made a significant difference" and had directly contributed to bonuses for the 2025 financial year.

A Deloitte UK spokesperson told BI: "Amid ongoing market uncertainty, we are pleased to be able to recognize our people for their hard work with salary increases, bonuses, and promotions this year. This is alongside other benefits such as fully funded private medical insurance, recently enhanced family policies, and our commitment to offering flexibility and choice in our ways of working."

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• The EU is bringing in a fee of 2 euros ($2.26) for small packages from the likes of Temu and Shein.
• That's far lower than charges faced by US consumers following decisions by President Donald Trump.
• One commentator said the "pain will be suffered by lower-income households."

European consumers now face a far smaller charge on imports from Chinese retailers than shoppers in the US.

The European Union said on Tuesday it will start imposing a flat fee of 2 euros ($2.26) on parcels worth less than 150 euros imported into the bloc.

About 4.6 billion parcels entered the EU last year, with the vast majority coming from China.

Earlier this month President Donald Trump reduced the tariffs on Chinese imports from 120% to 54%, and maintained the flat fee of $100 per postal item for packages worth less than $800.

Europe's move is a blow to Chinese fast fashion giants such as Shein and Temu, but less so than ending the "de minimis" loophole that had allowed US import duties to be avoided.

Customs and Border Protection data shows that de minimis shipments account for more than 90% of all cargo entering the US.

Trump's move means consumers cannot expect a return to the golden era of cheap clothes and fast delivery.

Rebecca Homkes, a lecturer at London Business School, said: "Consumers will see higher prices and potentially longer shipping times as Shein and others move from direct shipping to sending volumes of goods in containers to the USA to be re-sent from their USA-based warehousing."

In the meantime, shoppers are likely to face fewer options, longer wait times, and fewer bargains.

"The pain will be suffered by lower-income households who relied on small parcels from abroad to stretch the family budget," said Gary C. Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "This will harm a lot of people who belong to Trump's political base. It makes no sense."

Raj Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas, said the previous 120% level was "essentially prohibitive, so Temu and Shein couldn't ship into the US."

There was no "some chance of retailers not decoupling entirely, perhaps if these retailers can absorb some of that 54% tariff."

Border Force officers detected the drugs in two suitcases at an airport

• A United Airlines passenger says she was injured when a suitcase fell on her.
• The lawsuit says the flight crew should have intervened or assisted so that it was stowed properly.
• Eugenia Lyashenko has suffered from stress and depression since the incident, it adds.

A passenger is suing United Airlines, saying flight attendants should have helped put heavy luggage in the overhead bin.

Eugenia Lyashenko was flying from Boston to London in June 2023, per the lawsuit filed last Friday in the Massachusetts US District Court.

She was sitting in an aisle seat when another passenger's "heavy roller suitcase" fell from the open overhead bin, the suit says.

The lawsuit alleged that Lyashenko suffered serious head, neck, and back injuries after being struck by the suitcase.

"United should not have allowed other passengers to struggle with stowing heavy roller suitcases in the overhead bins without intervening to ensure that it was done properly and safely," it stated.

It added that the crew's failure to assist in storing the luggage contributed to Lyashenko's injuries.

As a result of the incident, she has since been unable to sit or stand for extended periods, and "suffered great pain, agony and mental anguish, stress, depression," the complaint says.

United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lyashenko's attorneys sought unspecified compensatory damages under the Montreal Convention.

The treaty stipulated that airlines are liable for any passenger injuries on board an aircraft, or while boarding or deplaning, unless they can prove the passenger was negligent.

It says damages can be as high as about $175,000.

The Montreal Convention is often cited in airline lawsuits, such as when a Ryanair passenger broke her leg after falling down the aircraft's steps. She was awarded $33,000 in compensation.

And last year, a Delta Air Lines passenger said he broke a rib after his armrest collapsed when he leaned on it.

• More graduates are applying for jobs at companies with fewer than 250 employees, a careers platform said.
• Job postings on Handshake have decreased by 15% in the past year.
• The number of job applications from graduates per vacancy has jumped by 30% year-on-year.

The class of 2025 is taking a closer look at smaller companies.

According to California-based career platform Handshake, more than a third of job applications from upcoming graduates have gone to companies with fewer than 250 employees. That's up from about a quarter of seniors two years ago.

With preparing for college during the pandemic, a wave of mass layoffs, and the rise of artificial intelligence, this year's graduating class has faced more than its fair share of challenges.

Now, they're trying to enter a job market showing significant cracks. While unemployment rates are relatively low, the number of job openings has been declining.

Handshake said job postings on its platform were down 15% over the past year, while the number of applications per job had increased by 30%.

The platform surveyed 2,871 students on bachelor's
degree courses at 658 institutions and found 56% of students were either "somewhat" or "very" pessimistic about starting their careers in this economy.

When asked how they felt overall about the job market, the one-word response used the most frequently was "competitive," followed by "difficult," "stressful," and "scary," Handshake said.

That may be a fair assessment of the situation. As of March, the average student graduating this summer had submitted 21% more job applications on Handshake than their counterparts last year. In 2024, there was an average of 13.6 applications per student; this year, it was 16.5.

Students are also reevaluating their goals. Of the 57% of graduates who started college with a "dream job" in mind, less than half have the same aim now.

Location is more important to this class than salary, with 73% reporting they would be more likely to apply for a job in their desired location, and 63% saying they are more motivated by a high starting salary.

Concern about the consequences of generative AI has also risen. Nearly 80% of graduating students expect to use AI in the workplace, but 62% are at least slightly concerned about how these tools will affect job prospects, compared with 44% just two years ago.

• The US Air Force has been tasked with modifying a jet gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar.
• Critics have flagged cost and ethical concerns over accepting the plane.
• Some estimate it could cost up to $1 billion to retrofit it as part of the Air Force One fleet.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the US Air Force to begin plans to convert a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet gifted to President Donald Trump by the Qatari royal family.

The plane is set to be used as part of Air Force One, but the development comes amid mounting concerns over the cost and ethical implications of accepting such a large gift from a foreign country.

"The Secretary of Defense has directed the Air Force to basically start planning to modify the aircraft," newly appointed Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told a Senate Armed Services committee hearing on Tuesday, per Defense One.

But Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Ilinois flagged the potential cost of converting the jet during the hearing, saying it could cost up to $1 billion to ensure it was capable of operating as part of the Air Force One fleet.

"Far from saving money, this unconstitutional action will not only cost our nation its dignity, but it will force taxpayers to waste over a billion dollars to overhaul this particular aircraft, when we currently have not one, but two, fully operational and fully capable Air Force One aircraft," Duckworth said.

Duckworth also expressed concerns that corners could be cut to get the plane into service before Trump's second term comes to an end.

Earlier this month, Trump announced that Qatar had gifted him the jet to serve as Air Force One. It is the most expensive gift to a US president in history.

"It's a great gesture from Qatar," Trump told reporters. "I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.'"

However, accepting the gift has prompted a bipartisan backlash, with Democrats and some Republicans saying it violates long-standing rules about presidents accepting expensive gifts from foreign leaders.

In a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rebutted suggestions the plane was a gift to Trump, saying it had been donated to the US Air Force by the Qatari royal family and was being "retrofitted to the highest standards" to serve as an Air Force One plane.

She did not give details on how long the process would take.

Experts told NBC News last week that converting the plane to serve as Air Force One would involve installing multiple top-secret systems at an estimated cost of around $1 billion.

There are two planes operating as part of the Air Force One fleet, with Trump scrapping a contract for a new plane in his first term, before renegotiating it.

Boeing is currently contracted to convert two 747 jets to serve as part of the fleet, but the project has encountered delays, and the first plane isn't expected to be ready until 2027.

• A South Korean F-35A that crash-landed in 2022 has been revived thanks to an intriguing new procedure.
• Engineers removed and reattached its wings so it could be moved to a maintenance site.
• This operation is now part of the F-35 program's standard maintenance protocols.

An F-35A stealth fighter jet that crash-landed on its belly in 2022 has been given a new lease of life thanks to a dramatic operation to remove and then reattach its wings.

The South Korean air force aircraft made headlines three years ago after a catastrophic mid-flight bird strike caused an F-35 pilot to make a "belly landing," or gear-up landing, at Seosan Air Base, near the country's eastern coast.

The South Korean pilot walked away from the high-risk maneuver unharmed, but the damage left the Lockheed Martin fifth-generation fighter unfit for service.

Local media reported a year after the bird-strike incident that South Korea was considering dumping the fighter after estimated repair costs to get the jet flying again following its unfortunate run-in with an eagle could be almost the price of a new F-35.

According to the F-35 Joint Program Office, a new plan was then devised with South Korea's air force to repurpose the jet as a training platform at the country's dedicated F-35 maintenance facility.

However, transporting it there would be prohibitively costly and difficult, the JPO said.

The air base and the maintenance facility are roughly 60 miles apart, making it a tough overland journey for the aircraft and its 35-foot wingspan.

The JPO, with South Korea's approval, opted for a novel approach to this problem, and US Air Force, US Navy, and Lockheed Martin personnel gathered in South Korea to work with the local military to remove the jet's wings before transfer and then reattach them on-site at the new location.

"This was a significant challenge, as it was the first attempt at removing F-35 wings as part of a concept demonstration," said Matt Trodden, the F-35 Lightning Support Team Aircraft Crash Recovery Lead Engineer, in a statement.

The process — never conducted before on an F-35A — has now been adopted as part of the F-35 program's standard heavy maintenance, repair, and reuse protocols.

The project took inspiration from an earlier repair project dubbed "Frankenbird" or "Frankenjet" which saw two damaged F-35s fused together into a fully operational aircraft.

Initiated in 2023, the project — led by engineers from manufacturer Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force — resulted in a successful test flight with the jet earlier this year.

Salvage operations of this kind could help mitigate the cost of losing an F-35, which has an estimated price tag of over $80 million for the A variant that South Korea flies. The jet comes in three different variants: the internal gun-equipped As, the Bs with a lift van for short takeoff and vertical landing, and Cs for carrier operations.

The "Frankenbird," by contrast, cost around $6 million to cobble together, and it is due back into operational service this year.

South Korea took delivery of its first F-35A Lighting II in 2019. It now operates roughly 40 of them, with a plan to have a fleet of 60 by 2028, according to the manufacturer.

• Target reported sliding sales in its first quarter to May 3.
• CEO Brian Cornell said sales "fell short of our expectations" in a "highly challenging environment."
• Cornell also said post-tariff price increases would be a "last resort."

Target sales fell sharply in the three months to May 3, in a period marked by its decision to roll back DEI initiatives in January.

In an earnings call Wednesday, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the reaction to the DEI changes was one of several "additional headwinds" that had an adverse impact on sales, but the company could not quantify the amount.

Business Insider reported in March that the consumer analytics firm Numerator found customer foot traffic and market share had shifted from Target to Costco, particularly among shoppers who value DEI.

With respect to tariffs, Rick Gomez, Target's chief commercial officer, said on the earnings call that "adjusting prices" was one of several steps the company was taking to manage new import costs.

Comparable sales fell by 3.8%, store traffic was down 2.4%, and the average transaction size decreased by 1.4%.

Store-originated sales declined 5.7%, but were partially offset by a 4.7% growth in digital sales, led by a 36% surge in same-day delivery via Target Circle 360.

"We have many levers to use in mitigating the impact of tariffs and price is the very last resort," Cornell said.

Some alternatives to price hikes include sourcing more products from the US rather than China, negotiating with suppliers, adjusting the timing of deliveries, and eliminating products from the retail assortment, Gomez said.

Bullseye's Playground vow

Gomez also said that about half of the products Target sells are sourced in the US, and that it's on track to reduce its share of imports from China to 25% from the 60% share it imported in 2017.

In addition, he highlighted the low-price section at the front of the store, known as Bullseye's Playground.

"We have made a commitment to keep those at $1, $3, and $5," Gomez said. "It's important to the brand, and it's important to the guests."

Looking ahead, Target said it expects a low-single-digit decline in sales for the full year.

Stock fell more than 6% in premarket trading and was down 28% this year at Tuesday's close.

It also announced an "acceleration office" led by Michael Fiddelke, the company's former CFO and current COO, aimed at speeding up strategic execution and reversing recent declines.

Amy Tu, the chief legal and compliance officer, and Christina Henningon, the chief strategy and growth officer, are both leaving the company.

Net income rose by $62 million to $1.04 billion for the period.