Thursday 6 March 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: Trump delays automotive tariffs for one month
Business: IAG CEO’s pay increases to £4.6 million
Markets: Shares in car makers rise
Foreign Affairs: Special European Council summit today on defence
Security and intelligence: China increases defence spending by 7.2 per cent
Domestic politics: UK Government consults on future of the North Sea
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,755.84 (down 0.036 per cent)
S&P 500 = 5,842.63 (up 1.12 per cent)
Nasdaq = 18,552.73 (up 1.46 per cent)
CAC40 = 8,173.75 (up 1.56 per cent)
£1 = $1.29 / €1.20
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: President Trump is to delay automotive tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month. According to analysts, the tariffs would have disrupted one third of car production in North America within one week.
Business: The CEO of British Airways’ owner IAG has seen his pay increase to £4.6 million for 2024. Luis Gallego’s pay is linked to the increase in value of IAG shares from around 150 pence at the start of 2024 to around 325 pence today. IAG also reported a record operating profit of £3.6 billion in its annual report.
Markets: Shares in car markers increased during trading yesterday, following the announcement that the US would delay automotive tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Shares in Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (which owns Citroen, Chrysler and Fiat among others) rose by more than 5 per cent, 7 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
Foreign Affairs: The European Council meets for a special summit today to discuss European defence and the Ukraine war. Ahead of the meeting, the European Commission announced plans to generate €800 billion of defence investment over the next four years. Around €150 billion of this would be money borrowed on the capital markets and then lent to member states.
Security and intelligence: China has said that it plans to increase its defence spending by 7.2 per cent this year. This will make its defence budget worth around $245 billion. The growth rate for China’s defence spending was the same in 2024 and in 2023.
Domestic politics: The UK Government is consulting on the future of fossil fuel and renewable energy production in the North Sea. As part of the plans, the existing windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers would be removed from 2030 but new drilling licences would be banned.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Eurozone interest rate decision
Special European Council on Defence and Ukraine (President Zelensky expected to attend)
US Special Envoy to Ukraine speaks at US Council on Foreign Relations
Cabinet Office Questions in UK Parliament
Eurozone construction growth data (February)
Eurozone retail sales data (January)
US unemployment data (weekly)
Company results from: Lufthansa, Costco, Air France KLM
Lookahead to tomorrow
US Federal Reserve Chair addresses the Chicago Booth Monetary Policy Forum
UK and Japan Foreign Ministers and Economy Ministers meeting
Private Members’ Bills debated in UK Parliament
UK house price data (February)
China, France trade data (January)
Eurozone employment data (Q4 2024)
Eurozone GDP data (Q4 2024)
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny in most of England apart from the southwest. High of 15C and low of 9C in London. Cloudy in Belfast. Sunny in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Either you run the day or the day runs you.” – Jim Rohn, motivational speaker
Mighty takeaway: Take control of your day. Schedule your time and make sure you prioritise what really matters to you.
That’s it for this morning. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you tomorrow.
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team