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Pakistan’s Trump outreach sparks India ire as US ties take unexpected turn: Financial Times

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Pakistan’s Trump outreach sparks India ire as US ties take unexpected turn: Financial Times



Pakistan’s recent charm offensive towards United States President Donald Trump has unsettled New Delhi, the Financial Times (FT) reported, detailing how Islamabad’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir’s warm reception in Washington contrasts sharply with India’s cooling ties with the White House.

According to the report, Munir travelled to Florida last weekend for the retirement ceremony of US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla, marking his second cordial encounter with top American military officials this summer.

In June, Munir held a two-hour private lunch with Trump in Washington, just weeks after Pakistan and India engaged in their deadliest military confrontation in decades.

Such treatment is unusual for a foreign military leader, the newspaper noted, especially given Trump’s earlier criticism of Pakistan as offering “nothing but lies and deceit” to Washington. Yet the relationship appears to be enjoying what analysts described as an “unexpected resurgence” under the Republican president.

The FT said India was left “seething” by Munir’s White House welcome, as Trump’s administration offered Islamabad comparatively lighter trade tariffs — 19% compared to a punitive 50% on New Delhi — and promised a deal to develop Pakistan’s “massive oil reserves”.

The shift in tone is credited to a targeted Pakistani strategy involving counterterrorism cooperation, business outreach to Trump associates, and deals in energy, critical minerals and cryptocurrency.

Pakistani officials believe urgency was required to repair ties with the US president and his allies, some of whom had previously backed sanctions against Munir over the jailing of former prime minister Imran Khan.

An early breakthrough came in March when Pakistan’s intelligence services handed over an Islamic State Khorasan operative accused of orchestrating a 2021 Kabul bombing that killed 180 people, including 13 US soldiers.

Trump publicly praised the move in his State of the Union address, using the occasion to also criticise India over tariffs.

The report also highlighted Pakistan’s embrace of “crypto diplomacy”, including an agreement between a Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture and Pakistan’s crypto council in April. Since then, Minister for Crypto and Blockchain Bilal bin Saqib has engaged in trade talks with Washington while promoting Pakistan’s digital asset potential to figures close to the US president.

Munir’s conduct during the May conflict with India also bolstered Islamabad’s credibility with Trump, according to Pakistani officials. They said the army chief balanced “strength and restraint” by downing several Indian jets without escalating further, with the US and Gulf states mediating a ceasefire.

“Trump needs success stories to proclaim and Pakistan is happy to give them to him,” said Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the US now at the Hudson Institute, a think-tank in Washington.

By contrast, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly rejected any suggestion of US mediation, asserting that the agreement with Pakistan came through existing bilateral military channels.

The FT noted that Pakistan is presenting itself to Washington as a back channel to rivals Iran and China, reminiscent of its role in US diplomacy in the 1970s that facilitated Richard Nixon’s opening of US relations with China.

While Islamabad has criticised some American military actions, like strikes against Iran, it has also cast itself as a mediator between the US and its foes.

In late July, Munir flew to Beijing, where he toured the headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army and reassured China’s foreign minister Wang Yi over the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

“Pakistan is a rare country that is friends with China, Iran, the Gulf states, to a lesser extent, Russia, and now, again, the US,” said Marvin Weinbaum, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “The US sees Munir as someone who can play a useful strategic role, and the Pakistanis keep their lines open to everyone but know to pull back when one relationship is clashing with another.”

For India, the burgeoning Trump–Pakistan relationship has proved an irritant, particularly given its failure to avert steep tariffs despite its larger economy. Indian officials expressed frustration at what they see as Washington rewarding a military-ruled neighbour for striking quick business deals.

Analysts cautioned, however, that Trump’s goodwill could prove volatile. According to the FT, Pakistan’s natural resource wealth remains largely unproven, its economy depends on a $7 billion IMF bailout, and recognition of Israel — a possible US expectation — would be politically difficult in Islamabad.

Haqqani told the newspaper that Trump is “playing the Pakistan card” to gain leverage over India. Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi warned that while the outreach has yielded short-term gains, Islamabad must protect “both its interests and its dignity” in the unpredictable relationship.



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Dick’s Sporting Goods raises guidance after second-quarter earnings beat

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Dick’s Sporting Goods raises guidance after second-quarter earnings beat


A Dick’s Sporting Goods store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its full-year sales and earnings guidance after delivering fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations.

The company is now expecting comparable sales to grow between 2% and 3.5%, up from a previous range of 1% and 3% and ahead of analyst estimates of 2.9%, according to StreetAccount. 

Dick’s said its earnings per share are now expected to be between $13.90 and $14.50, up from a previous range of $13.80 to $14.40. Analysts were expecting $14.39 per share, according to LSEG.

Here’s how the company performed compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $4.38 adjusted vs. $4.32 expected
  • Revenue: $3.65 billion vs. $3.63 billion expected

The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Aug. 2 was $381 million, or $4.71 per share, compared with $362 million, or $4.37 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items related to its acquisition of Foot Locker and other costs, Dick’s posted earnings per share of $4.38.

Sales rose to $3.65 billion, up about 5% from $3.47 billion a year earlier. During the quarter, comparable sales also grew 5%, well ahead of expectations of 3.2%, according to StreetAccount. 

“Our performance shows how well our long-term strategies are working, the strength and resilience of our operating model and the impact of our team’s consistent execution,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a news release. “Our Q2 comps increased 5.0%, with growth in average ticket and transactions, and we drove second quarter gross margin expansion.”

While Dick’s comparable sales guidance came in ahead of expectations, its full-year revenue outlook was slightly below estimates. The company said it’s expecting revenue to be between $13.75 billion and $13.95 billion, below estimates of $14 billion, according to LSEG.

Dick’s said its raised profit guidance includes the impact of tariffs that are currently in effect. In an interview with CNBC’s Courtney Reagan, Dick’s executive chairman Ed Stack said the company has implemented some price increases to offset the impact of higher duties but has been “surgical” in its approach.

“We’ve been able to do what we need to from a pricing standpoint, whether that’s from the national brands or from our own brands, and then other places where we’ve held price, we’ve been able to do that, and we’ve offset it someplace else, which is what you have to do in these in these situations, and the team’s done a great job doing that,” Stack said.

Hobart said during Thursday’s call with analysts that the retailer hasn’t seen its shoppers balking at the “small-level” price increases that have gone into effect.

Hobart said broadly Dick’s hasn’t seen any signs of a consumer spending slowdown as a result of tariffs. She said Dick’s saw growth across all of its key segments during the quarter.

Foot Locker tie-up

The company said its guidance doesn’t include any potential impact from its acquisition of Foot Locker, such as costs or results from the planned takeover, which is expected to close on Sept. 8. 

In May, Dick’s announced it would be acquiring its longtime rival for $2.4 billion, giving it a competitive edge in the wholesale sneaker market, most importantly for Nike products, along with a bigger global presence.

Nike is a critical brand partner for both Dick’s and Foot Locker and, at times, their performance is reliant on how well the sneaker brand is doing. During the quarter, Stack said new drops from Nike’s revamped running portfolio, including the Pegasus Premium and the Vomero Plus, are performing so well, it can’t keep the shoes in stock.

“Anything that’s new, innovative and kind of the cool factor, is blowing out,” Stack said.

However, the acquisition also comes with risks. Foot Locker’s business has been in the midst of an ambitious turnaround under CEO Mary Dillon but the company is still struggling.

In the quarter ended Aug. 2, Foot Locker’s sales fell 2.4% and it posted a loss of $38 million. The company faces a range of existential challenges, including its heavy mall footprint, its small online business and a core consumer that often has less discretionary income than the core Dick’s consumer. 

Once the businesses are combined, Foot Locker’s struggles could ultimately weigh on Dick’s overall results. On the other hand, the combined company will become the No. 1 seller of athletic footwear in the U.S., which will allow it to better compete against its next biggest rival, JD Sports. 

Stack acknowledged to CNBC that Foot Locker’s earnings “were not great” but said the company has a strategy.

“We have a game plan of how to turn this around,” Stack told Reagan. “We think that we can return Foot Locker to its rightful place in the top of this industry and we’re excited to roll up our sleeves and get started with that.”

Dick’s plans to operate Foot Locker as a separate entity. Moving forward, Stack said the company plans to break out details on how each brand is performing when releasing quarterly results. It’ll provide separate details on how Dick’s performed and how Foot Locker performed so investors can get a sense of what’s going on in each part of the business.

Hobart said during Thursday’s earnings call that as part of the acquisition, Dick’s plans to invest in Foot Locker stores and marketing. She also said Dick’s sees opportunities in merchandising and bringing in a new assortment of products.

“As Foot Locker becomes part of the Dick’s family, we are an even more important brand to our wholesale partners, and that’s part of the thesis,” Hobart said.

Earlier this week, Dick’s said it had received all regulatory approvals associated with the transaction. It’s unclear if it had to divest any stores to satisfy the FTC’s requirements.

— CNBC’s Ali McCadden contributed to this report.



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Ex-WH Smith finance boss delays Greggs board appointment amid accounting probe

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Ex-WH Smith finance boss delays Greggs board appointment amid accounting probe



Greggs has delayed the appointment of incoming board director Robert Moorhead due to a review into a major accounting error at his previous firm, WH Smith.

The high street bakery chain said Mr Moorhead – the former finance chief at WH Smith – had asked to delay his appointment until a review by Deloitte into the blunder at WH Smith is completed.

He had been due to start at Greggs on October 1 as an independent non-executive director and chair of the audit committee.

Mr Moorhead left WH Smith in 2024 after more than 20 years at the chain.

The delay to his appointment comes after WH Smith saw nearly £600 million wiped off its stock market value last week when it revealed a review of its finances had discovered trading profits in North America had been overstated by about £30 million.

It warned that annual profits would be lower than expected as a result, sending shares down by more than 40% at one stage during the day.

WH Smith said it had found an issue in how it calculated the amount of supplier income it received – leading it to be recognised too early.

It means the group is now expecting a trading profit for the US of about £25 million for the year to August – a cut from the previous £55 million forecast.

As a result, the company lowered its outlook for annual pre-tax profits to around £110 million.

Greggs said Kate Ferry will remain as a non-executive director and will continue as chair of the audit committee in the interim.



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Electric cars eligible for £3,750 discount announced

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Electric cars eligible for £3,750 discount announced


Pritti MistryBusiness reporter, BBC News

Ford A bright yellow Ford Puma parked beside a street. A person in a red jacket, black shorts, and white sneakers walks on the pavement in front of a green building with horizontal white slats. The car faces right, and its license plate reads 'HOI108'.Ford

The first electric vehicles (EV) eligible for the £3,750 discount under the government’s grant scheme have been announced.

The Department for Transport confirmed Ford’s Puma Gen-E or e-Tourneo Courier would be discounted as part of plans to encourage drivers to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

Under the grant scheme, the discount applies to eligible car models costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly ones seeing the biggest reductions. Another 26 models have been cleared for discounts of £1,500.

Carmakers can apply for models to be eligible for grants, which are then automatically applied at the point of sale.

More vehicles are expected to be approved in the coming weeks and the DfT said the policy would bring down prices to “closely match their petrol and diesel counterparts”.

The government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars from 2030.

But many drivers cite upfront costs as a key barrier to buying an EV and some have told the BBC that the UK needs more charging points.

According to Ford’s website, the recommended retail price (RRP) for a new Puma Gen-E starts from £29,905 while a petrol equivalent is upward of £26,060. With the reduction applied, buyers would be looking in the region of £26,155 for the EV version.

The grants to lower the cost of EVs will be funded through the £650m scheme, and will be available for three years.

There are around 1.3 million electric cars on Britain’s roads but currently only around 82,000 public charging points.

Full list of EVs eligible for the £1,500 discount

  • Citroën ë-C3 and Citroën ë-C3 Aircross
  • Citroën ë-C4 and Citroën ë-C4 X
  • Citroën ë-C5 Aircross
  • Citroën ë-Berlingo
  • Cupra Born
  • DS DS3
  • DS N°4
  • Nissan Ariya
  • Nissan Micra
  • Peugeot E-208
  • Peugeot E-2008
  • Peugeot E-308
  • Peugeot E-408
  • Peugeot E-Rifter
  • Renault 4
  • Renault 5
  • Renault Alpine A290
  • Renault Megane
  • Renault Scenic
  • Vauxhall Astra Electric
  • Vauxhall Combo Life Electric
  • Vauxhall Corsa Electric
  • Vauxhall Frontera Electric
  • Vauxhall Grandland Electric
  • Vauxhall Mokka Electric
  • Volkswagen ID.3

The up-front cost of EVs is higher on average than for petrol cars.

According to Autotrader, the average price of a new battery electric car was £49,790 in June 2025, based on manufacturers’ recommended prices for 148 models.

The equivalent for a petrol car was £34,225, but the average covers a broad range of prices.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the grant scheme was making it “easier and cheaper for families to make the switch to electric”.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said drivers “frequently tell us that the upfront costs of new EVs are a stumbling block to making the switch to electric”.

“It is great to see some of these more substantial £3,750 discounts coming online because for some drivers this might just bridge the financial gap to make these cars affordable.”



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