Caroline Hepker

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says that he still wants the UK to join the European Union's 150 billion euro defence fund after negotiations last year ended in failure.

He told reporters over the weekend that it, quote, makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word.

to work more closely together as the continent looks to counter Russian aggression.

Starmer's remarks came ahead of a series of meetings between senior UK and EU officials in London this week.

If a deal is reached, British defence firms would be able to bid for contracts funded by SAFE, the Security Action for Europe programme.

British engine maker Rolls-Royce has halted its plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon by the end of the decade.

The Telegraph reports that the UK government-backed programme is at a standstill due to a lack of potential partners.

Bloomberg's Freddie Fulston has more.

And those are our top stories for you this morning.

Looking at the markets, we have a major sell-off for some of the asset classes that did so well in January.

Gold at the moment slumping 7.3%.

Silver is also declining very strongly.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is up by 0.2% this after the announcement of Kevin Walsh as President Trump's pick to lead the Fed.

Richard Clarida over at PIMCO saying that Walsh brings intriguing ideas online.

on ways to change and potentially improve how the Fed operates.

In terms of other risk sentiment worsening, Bitcoin briefly sliding below $75,000.

Currently, we're just above that level.

This as we've also seen the concerns around tech names.

Nasdaq stock futures are currently down 1.7%.

US stocks 50 futures also slumping 1% right now.