The Trump administration is going to defend the president’s executive orders targeting law firms, one day after apparently deciding to stop the fight in court. Administration lawyers asked an appeals court Monday if the administration could pull back from appealing its losses to the law firms.

An even bigger threat to investors than the prospect of rising defence budgets proving illusory is that governments are dead serious. Armsmakers cater almost exclusively to states. This turns them into targets for strong-arming in periods of crisis—or even for expropriation.

Ed Newberry, global managing partner at Squire Patton Boggs, said they have seen a "substantial" influx of FARA-reportable work this year. Foreign governments and entities have sought firms help in navigating trade negotiations with the Trump administration.