Friday 24 July 2026
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: New jobless claims in US fall to lowest since 1969
Business and markets: EU gives Google another multimillion euro fine
Foreign Affairs: Nicaragua abolishes elections, cementing dictatorship
Security and intelligence: Russia’s possible support for Iran to hit the CIA
Domestic politics: UK Government pauses early release scheme for prisoners
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 10,639.17 (down 0.73%)
S&P 500 = 7,408.30 (down 1.21%)
Nasdaq = 25,137.69 (down 2.15%)
Stoxx 600 = 639.27 (down 1.18%)
£1 = $1.33 / €1.17
Lab / Con / Reform = 22 / 19 / 24 per cent (Find Out Now, 22 July)
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Initial jobless claims in the US have fallen to their lowest level since 1969. The number of people signing on for unemployment benefit stood at 187,000 last week. The unemployment rate in June stood at 4.2 per cent, but there are suggestions that this is due to a reduction in the workforce rather than a significant increase in employment.
Business and markets: The EU has fined Google €890 million for allegedly displaying its own services “more prominently in search results” than those of third parties and for restricting customer access to alternative apps in its online store, Google Play.
It comes after the European Court of Justice earlier this month upheld a fine of €4.1 billion issued to Google in 2018 for blocking competitors on its Android mobile phone operating system.
Foreign Affairs: Nicaragua is to abolish elections in the country. The Central American country is led by husband and wife co-Presidents, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. Ortega ruled Nicaragua between 1979 and 1990 and came to power again in 2007. His wife has been co-President since 2025.
The move further cements Ortega and Murillo’s dictatorship.
Security and intelligence: There are reports that Russia may have assisted Iran in striking CIA sites in the Gulf. At least two sites – the CIA station in the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia and another site in eastern Iraq – were struck by Iran in March. US analysts are looking into whether Russian may have provided Iran with data and/or drone technology.
Separately, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have begun targeting shipping in the Red Sea, leading to a spike in the price of oil.
Domestic politics: The new UK Government has paused the early release scheme for prisoners which was due to being on the 2nd September. The scheme would have allowed some prisoners to be released from jail after serving a third of their sentence in order to assist with overcrowding in prisons.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
President Trump attends the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner
UK retail sales data (June) – set to fall from 3.2% to 2.3%
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski, speaks at the WOMAD arts festival in Wiltshire
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga, Saudi Arabia (boxing)
King George Weekend at Ascot (horseracing)
Australian Outback Marathon, Uluru, Australia
Sunday
Final stage of the Tour de France (cycling)
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Bright sunshine across most of England. Sunny spells in the southeast. High of 29C and low of 15C in London. Sunny spells in Belfast. Light cloud in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” – Robert Fritz, writer and business coach
Mighty takeaway: What do you want to do but don’t think it’s possible or are too afraid to try?
That’s it for this Friday morning and for this week. Thanks so much for reading today and we hope that you have a splendid weekend.
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
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