GOBankingRates Maldives desperate for funds as ghe risk going under The tropical Maldives may lose entire islands unless it can quickly access cheap financing to fight the impact of climate change, its foreign minister said. Lauren Anthony reports. National security and warfare are big business. The U. In its latest annual report, Top Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI estimated arms sales for companies around the world using financial documents and reports of sales to national ministries and departments of defense. Because these companies — in many cases even foreign arms makers — sell primarily to the U. Department of Defense, sales patterns are closely linked to budgetary decisions in the U. The Budget Control Act, for example, comlanies in a dip in global military spending. According to Fleurant, shifting budget priorities, which often change dramatically after an election or economic event, add a le...