MORGAN STANLEY upgrades the European aerospace sector to Overweight from Neutral.

Qatari PM said after talks in Tehran that Qatar had reiterated its ongoing efforts to ease tensions and promote regional security and stability.

U.S. court filings show Turkey on Aug. 8 hired Ballard Partners on a one-year, $2.4m contract to provide government-relations, strategic advice and lobbying; the team includes Brian Ballard and former Trump aide Thomas Budri. Ballard Partners previously held a $1.5m 2017 contract tied to Kharg Bank’s efforts to avoid sanctions; the DOJ dropped charges against the bank earlier this year. The new agreement lists Turkey’s defence ministry as the primary client. Ankara is seeking to re-enter the F-35 program and to take delivery of six F-35s held in the U.S.; Turkey was expelled from the programme in 2019 after buying Russia’s S-400 air-defence system. Reports say Turkey is considering selling its S-400s to a third country, possibly the UAE, as leverage to persuade Washington to lift sanctions.