Tuesday, 21 January 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: EU approves France’s budget deficit plans today
Business: Santander poised to leave the UK
Markets: Bitcoin reaches record high
Foreign Affairs: China executes two prisoners
Security and intelligence: Venezuela sends troops to border with Colombia
Domestic politics: UK Government provides leave for parents of babies in neonatal care
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,520.54 (up 0.18 per cent)
S&P500 = 5,996.66 (up 1 per cent)
Nasdaq = 19,630.20 (up 1.51 per cent)
CAC40 = 7,733.50 (up 0.31 per cent)
£1 = $1.23 / €1.18
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US Presidential update: Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States yesterday. He has signed a number of Executive Orders on immigration, trade and climate change. The BBC has a list of the key Executive Orders here.
The Mighty Detail
Economics: The EU will approve the French Government’s new budget deficit proposals today. The EU requires that France’s budget deficit should be below 3 per cent of GDP by 2029. It currently stands at 6.1 per cent.
Business: Santander bank is poised to leave the UK following concerns over the level of regulation in the country. Santander has 14 million customers in the UK and is facing a compensation bill of up to £1.9 billion for victims of a car financing scandal.
Markets: The price of bitcoin reached $108,000 for the first time during trading yesterday. This came as Donald Trump, who is expected to introduce cryptocurrency-friendly regulations, was inaugurated.
Foreign Affairs: China executed two men yesterday. Fan Weiqu, aged 62, was convicted of driving into a crowd and Xu Jiajin, aged 21, was convicted of killing people in a stabbing attack. It is reported that China executes more prisoners every year than the rest of the world combined.
Security and intelligence: Venezuela is sending troops to its border with Colombia to provide aid, following a surge in gang-related violence in Colombia. More than 80 people have died and 11,000 people have fled the fighting between the ELN group and a group of former FARC members known as the 33rd Front.
Domestic politics: The UK Government has announced that parents with babies in neonatal care will be entitled to receive time off from the day they start a new job. The regulation will take effect in April following an Act of Parliament passed by the previous Government in 2023.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
o UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves attends WEF summit at Davos
o Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at WEF summit at Davos
o European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at WEF summit at Davos
o Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addresses European Parliament
o Treasury Questions in UK Parliament
o UK, Germany, Italy, France car registrations data (December)
o UK unemployment data (November)
o Company results from: Netflix
Lookahead to tomorrow
o Prime Minister’s Questions in UK Parliament
o UK Government debt data (December)
o South Korea GDP data (Q4 2024)
o Japan trade data (December)
o Company results from: easyJet, Johnson & Johnson
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Dry for most of England apart from the northwest. High of 6C and low of 3C in London. Dry in Belfast and Edinburgh too.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Everyone is born unique but most of us die copies.” – Les Brown, motivational speaker
Mighty takeaway: Follow your own dreams and live your own unique life.
That’s about it for this Tuesday. We’ll see you tomorrow.
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team