Friday, 10 January 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: Canada could impose retaliatory tariffs on the US
Business: M&S and Tesco’s strong sales over Christmas
Markets: Price of copper reaches three-week high
Foreign Affairs: Lebanese army chief elected President
Security and intelligence: US gives $500 million in military aid to Ukraine
Domestic politics: Sir Keir Starmer meets President Macron in Buckinghamshire
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,319.69 (up 0.83 per cent)
S&P500 = 5,918.25 (up 0.16 per cent)
Nasdaq = 19,478.88 (down 0.055 per cent)
CAC40 = 7,490.28 (up 0.51 per cent)
£1 = $1.23 / €1.20
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: It is being reported that Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice and some steel products if Donald Trump delivers on his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. Speaking about Canadian products this week, Donald Trump said “we don’t need anything they have”.
Business: Marks and Spencer and Tesco both saw sales increase during the Christmas trading period. M&S saw food sales increased by 8.7 per cent and clothing, home and beauty increase by 1 per cent. Tesco food sales increased by 4.7 per cent. Shares in both companies fell, however, with financial prospects partly dampened by inflation, the Budget and interest rates.
Markets: The price of copper has reached a three-week high following strong demand from China. Copper futures, tradeable contracts whose values are based on their underlying assets, rose to over $4.30 yesterday. China is the world’s largest copper supplier and consumer.
Foreign Affairs: The head of the Lebanese army, Joseph Aoun, has been elected as Lebanon’s new President. The position has been vacant since 2022. Aoun, a Maronite Christian, was supported by France, the United States and Saudi Arabia. He has vowed to ensure that only the state has the right to carry arms, in contradiction of the activities of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Security and intelligence: In its final days, the Biden administration has pledged a further $500 million in military aid to Ukraine. The aid will be delivered before Donald Trump’s inauguration. The US has provided around $50 billion in military aid to Ukraine since 2022.
Domestic politics: The UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at his official country residence in Buckinghamshire yesterday evening. The leaders discussed the war in Ukraine, the Middle East and UK-EU relations.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Nicolas Maduro begins new term as Venezuela’s President
US Supreme Court hears case on TikTok ban
France consumer spending data (November)
Italy retail sales data (November)
US unemployment rate (December)
Company results from: Walgreens Boots Alliance, Delta Airlines
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves scheduled to visit China
Sunday
Croatia Presidential Election (second round)
Australian Open (tennis) continues, Melbourne, Australia
The Masters (snooker) begins, Alexandra Palace
Annual Blessing of the River Thames, London Bridge
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Another sunny and dry day in almost all of the UK. Still cold though! High of 2C and low of -3C in London.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” – Jim Rohn, motivational speaker
Mighty takeaway: Take responsibility for what happens in your life and makes changes if you have to. Excuses will get you nowhere.
That’s about it this week. We hope you have a good weekend and we’ll see you on Monday!
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team