Tuesday, 12 November 2024
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: China trade surplus reaches nearly $1 trillion
Business: Alitalia to dismiss over 2,000 employees
Markets: Bitcoin reaches another record high of over $85,000
Foreign Affairs: Taliban said it will seek closer ties with the US
Security and intelligence: Israel claims responsibility for pager attacks
Domestic politics: UK Health Secretary proposed reduction in agency staff
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,125.19 (up 0.65 per cent at Monday close)
S&P500 = 6,001.35 (up 0.097 per cent at Monday close)
Nasdaq = 19,298.76 (up 0.062 per cent at Monday close)
CAC40 = 7,426.88 (up 1.2 per cent at Monday close)
£1 = $1.29 / €1.21
US election results
*Donald Trump is due to meet President Biden at the White House tomorrow, Wednesday 13th November to discuss the transition of power. The Republican Party currently looks likely to take control of the House of Representatives. A total of 218 seats is required to win control of the House of Representatives.*
Presidency Trump / Harris
· Electoral College: 312 votes / 226 votes
· Popular vote: 74.8 million / 71.2 million
Senate Republican / Democrat
· Senate seats: 53 / 46
House of Representatives Republican / Democrat
· House seats: 214 / 203
Governors Republican / Democrat
· Governors: 27 / 23
*If you’ve been forwarded the Mighty Memo, subscribe for free at www.mightymemo.co.uk. You’ll receive the Mighty Memo directly in your inbox as soon as it’s published!*
The Mighty Detail
Economics: China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world is set to reach nearly $1 trillion this year. This means that China exports nearly $1 trillion more in goods and services than it imports from the rest of the world. This imbalance risks provoking a trade war with other countries, particularly in the US under President-elect Donald Trump who believes the situation is unfair.
Business: The bankrupt Italian airline Alitalia is to dismiss its remaining 2,059 employees after merger talks between its successor, ITA Airways, and Lufthansa stalled. The Italian Government, which owns ITA Airways, has refused Lufthansa’s offer to adjust the price for a 41 per cent stake in ITA Airways.
Markets: The value of Bitcoin saw another significant rise during trading yesterday, reaching another all-time high of over $85,000. The value of all cryptocurrencies now stands at $2.69 trillion and exceeds the value of all the companies in the FTSE 100 which have a combined value of $2.09 trillion.
Foreign Affairs: The Taliban has said that it will seek closer ties with the United States following Donald Trump’s election. The head of the Islamist militant group’s political office in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, said the Taliban is “open to positive engagement” and that “It seems Mr Trump is more pragmatic and I think we need to be realistic in solution issues.”
Security and intelligence: The Israeli Government has now claimed responsibility for the pager attacks that took place against Hezbollah members in Lebanon in September. The pager attacks injured nearly 3,000 people and killed 37 people. Ahead of the Cabinet Meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu also said that he sees “eye-to-eye” with Donald Trump “on the Iranian threat in all its aspects”.
Domestic politics: The UK Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has proposed banning the NHS from using agency staff to fill lower-skilled temporary jobs such as healthcare assistants and domestic support workers. NHS spent £3 billion on agency staff last year and this measure is intended to reduce this spending in the future.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Energy Questions in UK Parliament
COP29 Climate Change Summit begins, Azerbaijan (ends 22nd November)
UK average earnings data (September)
Germany CPI inflation data (October)
Japan PPI inflation data (October)
Company results from: Spotify, Vodafone, AstraZeneca, SoftBank
Lookahead to tomorrow
Presidential election in Somaliland
Prime Minister’s Questions in UK Parliament
France, Australia unemployment rate (Q3 2024)
United States CPI inflation data (October)
Company results from: Scottish & Southern Energy, RWE, Fuller
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny and dry in London. So nice! High of 12oC and low of 7oC. Misty in Belfast but dry. Sunny in Edinburgh. Another great weather day!
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“The most important thing is to enjoy your life, to be happy, it's all that matters.” – Audrey Hepburn, actress
Mighty takeaway: This is a very simple quote but absolutely true. At the end of the day, what else matters?
That’s all for this Tuesday. See you tomorrow!
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team