Monday, 16 December 2024
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: France’s credit rating downgraded because of political turmoil
Business: US lawmakers give orders to Apple and Google on TikTok ban
Markets: South Korea’s Finance Ministry ready to stabilise financial markets
Foreign Affairs: Georgia’s new anti-Western President elected
Security and intelligence: Syria’s al-Jowlani to reassess ties with Russia and Iran
Domestic politics: UK Government deports nearly 13,500 people
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,300.33 (down 0.14 per cent at Friday close)
S&P500 = 6,051.09 (down 0.0026 per cent at Friday close)
Nasdaq = 19,926.73 (up 0.12 per cent at Friday close)
CAC40 = 7,409.57 (down 0.15 per cent at Friday close)
£1 = $1.26 / €1.20
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded France’s credit rating to Aa3 due to the country’s “political fragmentation”. The rating, which measures a country’s ability to repay its debts, is the fourth highest rating and the same rating as the UK. In the G7, Italy and Japan have a lower rating, while the US, Canada and Germany have the highest possible rating.
Business: Members of the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party have ordered the CEOs of Apple and Google to prepare to ban TikTok next month. The US Government passed a law banning TikTok in April on data security grounds – a decision upheld by the US Court of Appeals 10 days ago.
Markets: South Korea’s Finance Ministry has said that it will use all policy instruments and work with the Government to avoid any further volatility in the financial markets after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday. Yoon was impeached after his declaration of martial law earlier this month.
Foreign Affairs: Mikheil Kavelashvili, has been appointed as Georgia’s new President. The former Manchester City footballer, 53, is known for his anti-Western views and was elected by 224 of 225 members of the electoral college. Georgia’s incumbent pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has previously vowed to stay in office after her term ends tomorrow. Along with opposition parties, she has stated that the October elections were rigged by Russia.
Security and intelligence: Mohammed al-Jowlani, the leader of the HTS group now governing Syria and a former al-Qaeda fighter, has said that he will reassess relations with Russia and Iran, has no intention of fighting Israel and will build an inclusive society. Separately, Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, has said his terrorist group has lost a key Iranian military supply route. With the fall of the Assad regime, Hezbollah can no longer import Iranian weapons through Syria.
Domestic politics: The UK Government has said that it has deported nearly 13,500 people from the UK since entering office. Most of these were voluntary but enforced returns have increased by 25 per cent compared with a year ago.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
o Vote of confidence in German Chancellor’s Olaf Scholz’s government
o EU Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting, Brussels
o Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, steps down from his role
o Farmers’ protest in London
o Work and Pensions Questions in UK Parliament
o UK, US, France, Germany manufacturing data (December)
o UK, US, France, Germany services data (December)
o Italy CPI inflation data (November)
o UK house price data (December)
Lookahead to tomorrow
o BBC Sports Personality of the Year announced
o Energy Questions in UK Parliament
o UK average earnings data (October)
o UK unemployment data (October)
o Germany business expectations and economic sentiment data (December)
o United States retail sales data (November)
o United States manufacturing and industrial production data (November)
o Canada CPI inflation data (November)
o Japan trade data
o Company results from: Chemring Group
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Patchy cloud (again) but generally dry in England. High of 12oC and low of 6oC. Sunny spells in Belfast, again! Drizzle in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” – Buddha
Mighty takeaway: Live and enjoy today. Do not re-live yesterday, which no longer exists, or wish for tomorrow, which also does not exist.
That’s it for this morning. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you again soon.
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team