Friday 17 October 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: UK GDP grows 0.1 per cent in August
Business and markets: TSMC profits up by 39% in Q3 2025
Foreign Affairs: Zelensky to meet Trump at White House today
Security and intelligence: Trump authorises CIA operations in Venezuela
Domestic politics: MI5 issues warning on Russia, Iran, China, and terrorism
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 9,436.09 (up 0.12%)
S&P 500 = 6,629.07 (down 0.63%)
Nasdaq = 22,562.54 (down 0.47%)
CAC40 = 8,188.59 (up 1.38%)
£1 = $1.34 / €1.15
Lab / Con / Reform: 15 / 17 / 32 per cent
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Monthly UK GDP grew 0.1 per cent in August after falling 0.1 per cent in July. Production grew by 0.4 per cent while construction fell by 0.3 per cent and services were flat. The IMF says the UK will be the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 this year after the US.
Business and markets: Computer chip maker TSMC has announced a 39.1 per cent increase in profits in Q3 2025.
Revenue also beat analysts’ estimates, reaching $33.1 billion.
The tech giant is benefitting from the AI boom and is Asia’s largest technology company by market capitalisation.
Foreign Affairs: President Zelensky will meet President Trump at the White House today to discuss access to US missiles and energy support over the winter. In exchange, Ukraine could share its expertise in drone technology and production with the US.
Security and intelligence: President Trump has said that he has authorised the CIA to conduct operations in Venezuela.
The US administration is concerned about the flow of narcotics into the US from the country and about the leadership of President Maduro.
The US has also struck a number of boats near Venezuela in recent weeks which it claims were carrying drugs.
UK domestic affairs: In an annual speech, MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum, highlighted terror threats in the UK and said threats posed by Russia, Iran and China were escalating.
He said MI5 had disrupted 19 late-stage attacks since 2020.
He also said that the number of individuals investigated for state threat activity – such as espionage, sabotage and arson – had increased by 35 per cent in the last year.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
G7 Development Ministers meeting, Washington DC
Daytime Emmy Awards
Eurozone CPI inflation data (September) – expected to stay at 2.2%
Company results from: American Express, Schlumberger
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
‘No Kings’ day protests in the US against President Trump
Slovenia hosts summit of Southern European nations (MED9 summit)
British Museum hosts inaugural fundraising ball
Sunday
Women’s Cricket World Cup: England vs India
NFL London series: Los Angeles Rams vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Amsterdam Marathon
F1 United States Grand Prix
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Light cloud and dry across England. High of 15C and low of 9C in London. Light cloud in Belfast. Sunny spells in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“People usually judge you based on where you are at currently, not what you could become eventually. Don't let one comment stop you from trying. File it away or use it as fuel. Focus on getting better. Someone else's analysis of your current position doesn't tell you anything about your current potential.” – James Clear, writer
Mighty takeaway: Keep your destination and end goal in mind. Don’t be distracted by other people’s limited view of your abilities.
That’s it for this Friday morning and for this week. Thanks for reading. We hope that enjoy the weekend and we’ll see you on Monday.
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
*To read the Mighty Memo manifesto and learn about why we do this visit: https://www.mightymemo.co.uk/why*