The biggest event of the weekend, if not the month, was China's FX reserve outflow update, which at $100BN was slightly better than the $120BN expected (it pushed China's reserves to the lowest in nearly 4 years) but it was in the "no man's land" between the BofA best case scenario ($37.5BN), and the GS worst case ($197BN).
Saudi Arabia will join the UK in military exercises in preparation to fight ISIS in Syria, two sources have revealed to CNN. Saudi will deploy up to 150,000 troops in March to run a multinational military training exercise to prepare for future anti-ISIS operations. CNN reports: He stressed previously Saudis that air strikes alone will not defeat “Daash”, but they returned to reconsider their strategy, which is likely to present them in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
An embarrassing new report has highlighted the poor security of Britain’s nuclear weapons. The study, commissioned by the European Leadership Network (NLP), highlights the fact that UK nukes could be hacked by cyber terrorists, allowing them to launch a missile from a submarine. The study worryingly concludes that Britain’s nuclear weapons can never be fully protected against a cyber attack.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has dismissed a UN panel’s ruling that Julian Assange should be allowed to go free, saying that their ruling is “ridiculous”. The UN panel said that Assange had been “arbitrarily detained” and should receive compensation from the British government. BBC News reports: Philip Hammond rejected the decision, accusing Mr Assange of evading justice. Mr Assange hailed it as a “significant victory”, but the UK government insisted the ruling was not legally binding and the report “changes nothing”.