Tuesday, 7 January 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: German inflation rises higher than expected
Business: Waterstones mulls potential stock market listing
Markets: London insurance company goes to New York for listing
Foreign Affairs: Iran’s nuclear programme near “point of no return”
Security and intelligence: North Korea launches suspected hypersonic missile
Domestic politics: UK Government proposes new petrol car ban from 2030
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,249.66 (up 0.31 per cent)
S&P500 = 5,975.38 (up 0.55 per cent)
Nasdaq = 19,864.98 (up 1.24 per cent)
CAC40 = 7,445.69 (up 2.24 per cent)
£1 = $1.25 / €1.20
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Inflation in Germany rose to 2.9 per cent in December. This is an increase from 2.4 per cent in November and higher than the 2.6 per cent predicted by analysts. The Eurozone’s own inflation figures will be published today.
Business: The Managing Director of Waterstones, James Daunt, has said that he is considering an IPO for the company. Waterstones, which also owns the Barnes & Noble bookshop chain in the US, is the largest bookseller by shops in the UK and the US.
Markets: A major London insurance company, Aspen Insurance, has said that it will list in New York rather than in London. Aspen’s listing is expected to be worth around £3 billion and marks the latest in a series of companies preferring to list in the US rather than the UK. Deeper pools of capital in the US and more stringent listing rules in the UK may be factors in these decisions.
Foreign Affairs: France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, has said that Iran’s uranium enrichment programme is nearing the “point of no return”. Iran has said that it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes but in December the UN said that Iran was close to the 90 per cent level for bomb-grade material.
Security and intelligence: During US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Korea yesterday, North Korea fired a suspected hypersonic missile which landed in the sea. Blinken expressed confidence in South Korea’s institutions as South Korean investigators seek an extension to President Yoon’s arrest warrant which expired yesterday.
Domestic politics: The UK Government has launched a consultation on phasing out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The deadline set by the previous Government was 2035.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Orthodox Christmas
10th anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris
Health Questions in UK Parliament
UK house price data (December)
France, Italy, Eurozone CPI inflation data (December)
US, Canada trade data (November)
Company results from: Next
Lookahead to tomorrow
Prime Minister’s Questions in UK Parliament
5th anniversary of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine
France, Australia trade data (November)
Eurozone business and consumer confidence data (December)
Eurozone PPI inflation data (November)
US jobless claims (weekly)
China CPI and PPI inflation data (December)
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny spells for most of England with some potential for snow. High of 6C and low of -2C. Same weather in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love – is the sum of what you focus on.” – Cal Newport, academic
Mighty takeaway: Whatever you think of consistently becomes your reality.
That’s about it for today’s edition. See you tomorrow.
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team