Friday, 13 September 2024
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: European Central Bank cuts interest rates to 3.5 per cent
Business: OpenAI set to release more intelligent artificial intelligence
Markets: Tech stocks continue to rise
Foreign Affairs: UN reduces work in Yemen because of Houthi rebels
Security and intelligence: Opposition lawmakers detained in Pakistan
Domestic politics: Prime Minister announces intention to reform NHS
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,240.97 (up 0.57 per cent at Thursday close)
S&P500 = 5,595.76 (up 0.75 per cent at Thursday close)
Nasdaq = 17,569.68 (up 1 per cent at Thursday close)
Nikkei = 36,581.76 (down 0.68 per cent at Friday close)
CAC40 = 7,435.07 (up 0.52 per cent at Thursday close)
£1 = $1.31 / €1.19 / ¥185.32
US: Trump / Harris = 47.0 / 48.5 per cent
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The European Central Bank has cut interest rates from 3.75 per cent to 3.5 per cent. The move was widely anticipated. Inflation in the eurozone has fallen in recent months – down to 2.2 per cent in August – but there is also concern that economic growth is slowing.
Business: OpenAI has said that it is to release a more intelligent form of artificial intelligence (AI) in the next two weeks. OpenAI, which created the ChatGPT service, said it plans to roll out AI with reasoning abilities that considers its response before replying to a query.
Markets: Tech stocks continued to rise yesterday. Shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet, and in Facebook’s parent company Meta, gained around 2 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.
Foreign Affairs: The UN is reducing its activities in Yemen to “essential lifesaving and life-sustaining activities” only. This comes after the targeting of UN staff by Houthi rebels, including the detention of 60 staff from the UN and other humanitarian organisations in June.
Security and intelligence: Opposition politicians in Pakistan have been detained by the police following a protest. The lawmakers were calling for the release of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan who is currently in jail on corruption charges. Khan’s supporters say the charges are politically motivated.
Domestic politics: The Prime Minister gave a speech on the state of the NHS yesterday. He promised to publish a 10-year plan in the spring on reforming the health service in three areas. This includes the transition to digital, moving care from hospitals to communities and focusing on prevention over sickness.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
o UK Prime Minister holds meeting with President Biden in Washington D.C.
NATO defence chiefs meet in Prague (ends Sunday 15th)
German Chancellor receives Kenyan President William Ruto
Japan industrial production data (July)
Eurozone industrial production data (July)
France CPI inflation data (August)
China retail sales data (August)
China industrial production data (August)
China unemployment rata data (August)
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
Last Night of the Proms, Royal Albert Hall
Heritage Open Day, nationwide
Battle of Britain Memorial Day, Bentley Priory
Sunday
Amgen Irish Golf Open Final Round, County Down
Women’s Golf Solheim Cup Final Round, United States
British Science Festival, Chelmsford
Heritage Open Day ends, nationwide
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny and dry all day in London. High of 17oC and low of 5oC. Also sunny and dry in Belfast and Edinburgh. A fine Friday all round!
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker
Mighty takeaway: Is there a project or goal that you are putting off? You may be thinking about doing it but unless you take action, nothing will ever happen. Action is key.
That’s it for this beautiful Friday. We hope you have a great weekend and we’ll see you again on Monday. If you like what you read or don’t like it at all, let us know. And do pass this newsletter on to someone who might find it useful.
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team