France, Germany ticked over tanker deal
The decade-long struggle to replace the US’s fleet of airborne refueling tankers is turning ugly as France and Germany claim that Airbus is being unfairly discriminated against in the deal…Both Boeing and EADS have at various times looked like they had the inside track for the contract. EADS promised to build a US plant as part of its partnership with Northrup Grumman. This is one of the longest running sagas in the history of the military-industrial complex and looks like it is still years away from being settled…
In lousy economic times, trade tensions become magnified, as we have seen…If these trade spats flare up further, look for risk aversion to be a theme ahead.

AUTOREFRESH 













Clearly, the French have thrown their lot in with the Russians and Chinese- let them buy the damn tankers…