Friday, 11 October 2024
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: US inflation falls to 2.4 per cent
Business: Harvest in the UK set to be the second worst on record
Markets: GSK shares climb on drug lawsuit payout
Foreign Affairs: Taiwan President says China has “no right to represent Taiwan”
Security and intelligence: Israel’s Security Cabinet discusses Iran response
Domestic politics: New Employment Rights Bill won’t be law until 2026
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,237.73 (down 0.073 per cent at Thursday close)
S&P500 = 5,780.05 (down 0.21 per cent at Thursday close)
Nasdaq = 18,282.05 (down 0.052 per cent at Thursday close)
CAC40 = 7,541.59 (down 0.24 per cent at Thursday close)
£1 = $1.31 / €1.19
US: Trump / Harris = 47.1 / 49.1 per cent
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The rate of inflation in the United States stood at 2.4 per cent in the year to September. This is down slightly on the 2.5 per cent rate in the year to August. On a monthly basis, inflation increased by 0.2 per cent in September, driven by rising food and housing costs.
Business: The harvest in the UK this year is set to be the second worst on record. Heavy rain and cold weather between autumn 2023 and summer 2024 mean that the wheat harvest is down by 21 per cent. Farmers could lose around £600 million on wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape.
Markets: Shares in pharmaceutical company GSK climbed by over 3 per cent during trading yesterday. This comes after it agreed to pay $2.2 billion to settle legal claims that its heartburn drug, Zantac, caused cancer. Around 80,000 claimants are involved in the lawsuit which GSK has settled without admitting wrongdoing. Zantac was first approved for sale in the US in 1983 and was discontinued in 2020.
Foreign Affairs: In a speech marking Taiwan’s national day, President Lai Ching-te has said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan”. He added, however, that Taiwan would be willing to work with China on issues such as climate change, health and regional security. Anticipating that the remarks could antagonise China, the US Government said that China should not use the speech as a pretext for military activity against Taiwan.
Security and intelligence: Israel’s Security Cabinet met yesterday evening to discuss the country’s response to Iran’s military strike. It was expected to authorise the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary to initiate a response at their discretion. Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, previously warned that Israel’s response would be “lethal, precise and above all surprising”.
Domestic politics: The UK Government introduced its Employment Rights Bill in Parliament yesterday but it is unlikely to become law before 2026 because of extensive scrutiny from business leaders and lawmakers. The Bill includes enhanced sick pay, extends paternity pay and protection from unfair dismissal and bans “exploitative” zero hours contracts.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Hong Kong public holiday
Yom Kippur (holiest day in the Jewish calendar)
Nobel Peace Prize winner announced
UK construction data (August)
UK GDP data (August)
UK trade data (August)
UK industrial production data (August)
United States PPI inflation data (September)
Canada employment data (September)
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
100th day anniversary of Labour Government in the UK
America’s Cup Match begins, Barcelona
Sunday
o World Health Summit begins in Berlin
o NFL London Edition: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears
o ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup: England vs. Scotland
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny and dry in London. High of 14oC and low of 10oC. Clear skies in Belfast before turning cloudy in the early evening. Rain in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” – Stephen Covey, writer
Mighty takeaway: What are you prioritising that you shouldn’t be and what do you want to prioritise instead? Make a decision to prioritise what is truly important to you.
That’s it for today and for this week. See you again on Monday! If you like what you read or don’t like it at all, let us know. And do pass this newsletter on to someone who might find it useful.
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team