Wednesday, 18 December 2024

The Mighty Headlines

·       Economics: US Federal Reserve interest rate announcement today

·       Business: Honda and Nissan prepare merger talks

·       Markets: Dow Jones hits a 9-day losing streak, the first since 1978

·       Foreign Affairs: Syria’s al-Jowlani states rebel groups will be disbanded

·       Security and intelligence: Russia makes new bid for Kursk and Donetsk

·       Domestic politics: UK Government increases police funding by £1 billion

The Mighty Stats

·       FTSE = 8,195.20 (down 0.81 per cent at Tuesday close)

·       S&P500 = 6,050.61 (down 0.39 per cent at Tuesday close)

·       Nasdaq = 20,109.06 (down 0.32 per cent at Tuesday close)

·       CAC40 = 7,365.70 (up 0.12 per cent at Tuesday close)

·       £1 = $1.27 / €1.21

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The Mighty Detail

Economics: The US Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision today. A cut in the rate is expected, despite above-target inflation. Separately, UK unemployment remained unchanged yesterday at 4.3 per cent. UK wages rose by 5.2 per cent between August and October. This data suggests that the Bank of England will not cut interest rates when it meets on Thursday. 

Business: Automotive manufacturers Honda and Nissan are preparing to start merger negotiations. The possible merger would help Honda and Nissan compete with Toyota and Tesla as well as with competitors in China.

Markets: The Dow Jones Industrial Average – an index of 30 US stocks – fell by 0.61 per cent yesterday. This was its ninth day of consecutive falls and the first nine-day fall since 1978. The Dow Jones contains fewer high-growth tech stocks than other indexes such as the Nasdaq or S&P 500.

Foreign Affairs: Mohammed al-Jowlani, the leader of the HTS group now governing Syria, has said that Syrian rebel groups will be disbanded and trained to join the “ranks of the defence ministry”. He added that “Syria must remain united”. UK diplomats met al-Jowlani earlier this week. US officials have also made contact with the new regime.

Security and intelligence: Russia is intensifying its offensive in its Kursk region – an area held by Ukraine since August – with around 68 combat clashes a day compared to around 40 at the end of last week. It is also intensifying action in the eastern Donetsk region. The Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, added yesterday that Russia was using North Korean troops in the Kursk region.

Domestic politics: The UK Government has said that police forces in England and Wales will be given £1 billion more in funding next year. The total provisional police funding settlement will come to £19.5 billion. The majority will be given to Police and Crime Commissioners to use in their areas.

The Mighty Calendar

What’s happening today?

o   EU-Western Balkans summit, Brussels

o   Prime Minister’s Questions in UK Parliament

o   US Federal Reserve interest rate decision

o   Bank of Japan interest rate decision

o   US housing starts (November)

o   UK, Eurozone CPI inflation data (November)

o   New Zealand GDP data (Q3 2024)

Lookahead to tomorrow

o   European Council summit, Brussels (Ukraine’s President Zelensky to attend)

o   President Putin’s annual press conference

o   Sir Keir Starmer appears before the Liaison Committee in UK Parliament

o   Defra Questions in UK Parliament

o   Bank of England interest rate decision

o   UK, Italy, Germany, France car registrations data (November)

o   US GDP data (Q3 2024)

o   US unemployment data (weekly)

o   Japan CPI inflation data (November)

o   Korea PPI inflation data (November)

o   New Zealand trade data (November)

The Mighty Finale

🌤️Weather today

Rain in the northwest and northeast of England in the morning. Rain everywhere in England by the evening. High of 15oC and low of 7oC. Patchy rain in Belfast. Sunny spells in Edinburgh!

✏️Life coaching quote of the day

“Sometimes there is no next time, no second chance, or no time out. Stop waiting. It’s now or never. When you wait, you aren’t procrastinating. You are doing something more dangerous. You are deliberately convincing yourself “now is not the time.” You are actively working against your dreams.” Mel Robbins, motivational speaker

Mighty takeaway: Take the action now to start achieving your goals and dreams. Procrastinating will get you nowhere.

That’s it for this morning.

Bye!

The Mighty Memo team