Monday, 3 February 2025
The Mighty Headlines
· Economics: Canada and Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs
· Business: Business confidence in UK at “historically depressed levels”
· Markets: Stock markets likely to fall today because of tariffs news
· Foreign Affairs: Burma extends state of emergency for 6 months
· Security and intelligence: EU leaders meet to discuss defence today
· Domestic politics: UK calls for closer relationship with EU but no single market
The Mighty Stats
· FTSE = 8,673.96 (up 0.31 per cent)
· S&P500 = 6,040.53 (down 0.5 per cent)
· Nasdaq = 19,627.44 (down 0.28 per cent)
· CAC40 = 7,950.17 (up 0.11 per cent)
· £1 = $1.23 / €1.20
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Canada and Mexico are imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States tomorrow after the Trump administration said it would impose 25 per cent tariffs on imports from their countries. Canada is imposing 25 per cent tariffs on goods worth $125 billion Canadian dollars. Mexico has not yet specified its rate of tariffs or which products would be affected.
Business: The Institute of Directors has said that business confidence in the UK is at “historically depressed levels”. The Institute’s economic confidence index stood at -59 in January although this is up slightly from the -61 recorded in December.
Markets: According to analysts, stock market indices are likely to fall today as investors react to the news of tariffs imposed by the American, Canadian and Mexican administrations. The Nasdaq could fall by 1.4 per cent today and the FTSE 100 could fall by 0.7 per cent.
Foreign Affairs: Burma’s military government has extended the country’s state of emergency for another six months. Saturday marked the four-year anniversary of the coup which overthrew the elected Government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Security and intelligence: EU leaders are meeting in Brussels today to discuss their approach to defence. The two key topics on the agenda are which military capabilities to invest in and how to finance this investment. The NATO Secretary General will attend over lunch and the UK Prime Minister will attend over dinner.
Domestic politics: Speaking at a meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday, the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that he wants to see a closer relationship with the EU on defence, trade and the economy. The Home Secretary says that joining the single market or customs union are “red lines” in the Government’s discussions with the EU.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
o China public holiday (new year)
o EU leaders defence meeting, Brussels
o Work and Pensions Questions in UK Parliament
o Eurozone, UK, US manufacturing data (January)
o Eurozone CPI inflation data (January)
Lookahead to tomorrow
o President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu expected to meet
o UK-EU Forum meeting, Brussels
o Energy Questions in UK Parliament
o South Korea CPI inflation data (January)
o China, Japan services data (January)
o Company results: Google, Spotify, Vodafone, UBS, BNP Paribas, Diageo, Panasonic
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Overcast in southeast England but sunny almost everywhere else. High of 9C and low of 6C in London. Overcast in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond our power or our will.” – Epictetus, Ancient Greek philosopher
Mighty takeaway: Don’t worry about things you can’t control.
That’s it for this morning. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you again soon.
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team