Friday, 1 November 2024
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: Inflation increases to 2 per cent in Eurozone
Business: Chinese car company sues the EU because of tariffs
Markets: Microsoft and Meta shares fall because of AI investments
Foreign Affairs: Argentinian President fires Foreign Minister
Security and intelligence: Germany shuts down Iranian consulates
Domestic politics: UK initiates Brexit deal process for N. Ireland
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,110.10 (down 0.61 per cent at Thursday close)
S&P500 = 5,705.45 (down 1.86 per cent at Thursday close)
Nasdaq = 18,095.15 (down 2.76 per cent at Thursday close)
CAC40 = 7,350.37 (down 1.05 per cent at Thursday close)
£1 = $1.30 / €1.20
US swing states: Trump / Harris
Michigan 46.9 47.9 Harris +1.0
Pennsylvania 47.9 47.5 Trump +0.4
Wisconsin 47.4 48.2 Harris +0.7
Arizona 48.8 46.5 Trump +2.3
N. Carolina 48.3 47.2 Trump +1.1
Georgia 48.7 46.9 Trump +1.8
Nevada 47.4 47.5 Harris +0.1
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Inflation in the Eurozone increased to 2 per cent in October. This is up from 1.7 per cent in September and has been driven by food prices and services. Unemployment in October stayed at a record low of 6.3 per cent.
Business: Chinese car maker SAIC is to sue the EU. The follows the 45 per cent tariffs the EU has imposed on Chinese electric cars. SAIC, a Chinese state-owned car company, said it wanted to protect its rights and interests. The EU has said that the Chinese state is subsiding car production and distorting competition.
Markets: US stock markets fell yesterday, with Microsoft and Meta performing particularly poorly. Microsoft shares fell by over 5 per cent and Meta shares fell by 4 per cent. Although both companies published positive results in Q3 2024, there are concerns that the amount of money they are spending on artificial intelligence could impact profitability.
Foreign Affairs: Argentina’s Foreign Affairs minister has been fired after a vote at the UN in which Argentina voted in favour of ending the United States’ sanctions on Cuba. Argentina’s President Milei is trying to align Argentina with the United States’ foreign policy and his office said that Argentina is “categorically opposed to the Cuban dictatorship”. This is the 32nd year that the UN has voted to end US sanctions on Cuba.
Security and intelligence: Germany has closed its Iranian consulates following the execution of German-Iranian prisoner, Jamshid Sharmahd in Iran. Sharmahd was kidnapped by the Iranian security services in Dubai in 2020. Iran accused him of planning a 2008 terrorist attack and disclosing classified military information. There are suggestions that the kidnap was linked to the collapse of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with Western countries including with Germany.
Domestic politics: The UK Government has initiated the Democratic Consent process for the Northern Ireland Protocol. Under the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland must give consent to the Protocol every four years. If it does not do so, this part of Brexit deal could collapse. This will be the first time the Democratic Consent process has been initiated.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Switzerland CPI inflation data (October)
Spain, UK, Canada, United States manufacturing data (October)
Brazil industrial production data (September)
United States unemployment data (October)
Company results from: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Nomura
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
New leader of the UK Conservative Party announced
England versus New Zealand Rugby Autumn Nations series
Sunday
Presidential Election in Moldova (second round)
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
Brazilian Grand Prix
New York City Marathon
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Dry in London with light cloud. High of 14oC and low of 9oC. Same in Belfast but light rain in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planed for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn, motivational speaker
Mighty takeaway: What would like to do that you aren’t doing? If you don’t take the action, no-one will do it for you.
That’s about it for today’s edition. Thank you so much for reading this week and we’ll see you on Monday. Enjoy the weekend!
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team