Thursday, 13 February 2025
The Mighty Headlines
· Economics: OPEC predicts strong oil demand in 2025
· Business: Chevron to cut up to 20 per cent of its workforce
· Markets: European stocks rise despite US inflation data
· Foreign Affairs: Israel calls up military reservists
· Security and intelligence: Sudan agrees to host Russian naval base
· Domestic politics: UK discussion with Hong Kong on trade despite pro-democracy trials
The Mighty Stats
· FTSE = 8,807.44 (up 0.34 per cent)
· S&P 500 = 6,051.97 (down 0.27 per cent)
· Nasdaq = 19,649.95 (up 0.031 per cent)
· CAC40 = 8,042.19 (up 0.17 per cent)
· £1 = $1.24 / €1.20
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: OPEC is sticking to its forecast of strong oil demand in 2025 despite disruption to trade following US tariffs. In its latest report, the Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries said world oil demand would increase by 1.45 million barrels per day in 2025.
Business: Oil company Chevron has said that it will cut up to 20 per cent of its global workforce by the end of 2026. The company aims to make $3 billion of savings and to simplify its business as it faces challenges in production and refining.
Markets: The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.11 per cent higher yesterday following positive earnings results from European companies such as Heineken. This is despite the news of an increase in US inflation to 3 per cent yesterday which makes US interest rate cuts less likely in the immediate term.
Foreign Affairs: Israel is calling up its military reservists as its prepares for a possible re-start of hostilities with Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given Hamas until Saturday to release more hostages. President Trump has said all hostages should be released by 12.00pm on Saturday.
Security and intelligence: The Sudanese Government has agreed to the construction of a Russian naval base in Sudan. A deal had previously been signed by former Sudanese President al-Bashir but he was overthrown in 2019. The new agreement will help Russia’s influence in the region, given that its naval installations in Syria are now in question.
Domestic politics: It is being reported that UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, ordered officials to increase discussions with Hong Kong on financial services trade late last year despite the fact that the high-profile trials of pro-Democracy activists, Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, and Benny Tai, were taking place at the same time.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
· NATO Defence Ministers meeting, Brussels
· France hosts international conference on Syria
· Transport Questions in UK Parliament
· UK GDP data (Q4 2024)
· UK industrial production and manufacturing data (December)
· US unemployment data (weekly)
· US PPI inflation data (January)
· Company results from: Barclays, Nissan, Honda, Siemens, Sony
Lookahead to tomorrow
· Munich Security Conference begins, Germany
· Eurozone employment data (Q4 2024)
· Eurozone GDP data (Q4 2024)
· US retail sales data (January 2024)
· Company results from: NatWest
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Everywhere is basically dry but cloudy. Belfast and Edinburgh too. High of 6C and low of 1C in London.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.” – Oprah Winfrey
Mighty takeaway: Don’t sell yourself short.
That’s it for this morning. We’ll see you again tomorrow.
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team