Friday 26 June 2026
*The Met Office has issued a “red warning” for extreme heat in some parts of the UK today. Affected areas include the East of England, and London and South East England.
An “amber warning” for extreme heat has been issued for the West Midlands, East Midlands, South West England, North West England, and Yorkshire and Humber. Further details on the individual counties affected and the implications of the warnings are available on the Met Office website here: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings *
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: France’s audit office issues warning about level of public debt
Business and markets: Bayer wins Supreme Court case over “Roundup”
Foreign Affairs: Venezuela earthquake update
Security and intelligence: Zelensky says Russia moving air defences inland
Domestic politics: Timetable for new Labour Party Leader and PM set out
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 10,529.89 (up 0.65%)
S&P 500 = 7,357.49 (down 0.0099%)
Nasdaq = 25,358.60 (down 0.46%)
Stoxx 600 = 640.21 (up 0.8%)
£1 = $1.32 / €1.16
Lab / Con / Reform / Green = 21 / 18 / 24 / 15 per cent (Find Out Now, 24-25 June)
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: France’s public audit office has issued a warning about the level of the country’s debt. France’s public debt is set to grow to over €3.6 trillion this year (around 118.5 per cent of GDP). The Cour des Comptes said that “suffocation under debt is not a risk, it is a reality of our public finances”.
Business and markets: Pharmaceutical giant, Bayer, has won a major Supreme Court case in the US. The case followed allegations that consumers should have been warned that use of its weedkiller, Roundup, could cause cancer.
In Monsanto vs Durnell, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that consumers could not sue Bayer for not including a cancer warning because regulators had said a label was not required.
Bayer, which bought Monsanto (the manufacturer of Roundup) in 2018, has been fighting around 100,000 legal cases linked to the weedkiller and said the ruling would now “contain the Roundup litigation”. It has proposed a $7.25 billion class settlement. Its share price rose by nearly 19 per cent yesterday.
Foreign Affairs: The two earthquakes which hit Venezuela on Wednesday evening recorded 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale. The latter was the largest earthquake to hit the country since 1900.
The President has declared a state of emergency as the number of people dead approaches 200. The UK, among other countries, has offered humanitarian assistance and the World Bank is assessing how it can support the country.
Security and intelligence: President Zelensky has said that Russia’s air defence are being moved further inland to protect cities such as Moscow. It comes as Ukrainian drones, some of which can fly up to 930 miles, increasingly hit targets deep within Russia.
Domestic politics: The Labour Party National Executive Committee has set out a timetable for a new party leader (and so a new Prime Minister).
15 July: Deadline for candidates to gather support from at least 81 MPs
16 July: Deadline for candidates to gather support from trade unions
17 July: New party leader announced (if only one candidate)
6 – 27 August: Ballot of party members (if more than one candidate)
29 August: New party leader announced (if more than one candidate)
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Former US National Security Advisor, John Bolton, expected to plead guilty in case of mishandling classified information
Supergirl movie released
Football World Cup (UK times)
Paraguay vs Australia, 3:00 AM, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Türkiye vs United States, 3:00 AM, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Norway vs France, 8:00 PM, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Senegal vs Iraq, 8:00 PM, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
UK Armed Forces Day
The King and Queen Camilla attend opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament
Iceland Volcano Marathon
Football World Cup (UK times)
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, 1:00 AM, NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Uruguay vs Spain, 1:00 AM, Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
Egypt vs Iran, 4:00 AM, Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
New Zealand vs Belgium, 4:00 AM, BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
Croatia vs Ghana, 10:00 PM, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Panama vs England, 10:00 PM, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Sunday
Kite Festival, Parliament Hill, London
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 2026
F1 Austrian Grand Prix
Football World Cup (UK times)
Colombia vs Portugal, 12:30 AM, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Congo DR vs Uzbekistan, 12:30 AM, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Algeria vs Austria, 3:00 AM, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Jordan vs Argentina, 3:00 AM, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
South Africa vs Canada, 8:00 PM, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Light rain in the northwest of England. A chance of thundery showers in the northeast. Sunny elsewhere. High of 35C and low of 20C in London. Light rain in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength.” – Theodore Roosevelt, American President
Mighty takeaway: Nothing further to add.
That’s it for this morning and for this week. Thank you for reading and we hope that you have a lovely weekend.
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
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