Friday 27 March 2026
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: UK to face greatest economic impact in the G20 from Iran war
Business and markets: Pernod Ricard in talks to buy owner of Jack Daniel’s
Foreign Affairs: UN votes on slave trade and reparations
Security and intelligence: Spying allegations in Hungary ahead of elections
Domestic politics: US ambassador expresses potential concern over trade
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 9,972.17 (down 1.33%)
S&P 500 = 6,477.16 (down 1.74%)
Nasdaq = 21,408.08 (down 2.38%)
Stoxx 600 = 580.84 (down 1.13%)
£1 = $1.33 / €1.16
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The UK is set to face the biggest economic impact from the Iran war out of the G20 group of major world economies. The OECD has reduced the UK’s economic growth forecast from 1.2 per cent to 0.7 per cent in 2026. UK inflation is also now forecast to reach 4 per cent in 2026 rather than 2.5 per cent as previously forecast.
Business and markets: Shares in Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniel’s whisky, rose by nearly 10 per cent yesterday. It follows news that French company, Pernod Ricard, is considering a bid to buy Brown-Forman.
Brown-Forman has a market cap of around $11 billion.
Pernod Ricard is worth around €16 billion.
Foreign Affairs: The UN has voted to recognise the transatlantic slave trade and the need for reparations for African countries. The resolution was brought by Ghana and passed with 123 votes. The US, Israel and Argentina voted against the motion. Countries including the UK, Spain and Portugal abstained.
Security and intelligence: Hungary’s opposition party has claimed that the Hungarian police were directed by the security services to raid the homes of its staff. The police captain involved in the raid has now resigned and said that the raids were politically motivated.
The Hungarian Government has separately launched an investigation into a journalist, Szabolcs Panyi, who was investigating the Government’s links to Russia.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been in power for 16 years and is trailing in the polls.
Domestic politics: The US ambassador to London, Warren Stephens, has said that if the UK adopts EU rules (and this affects trade between the UK and US), it “will not be favourably viewed in Washington”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said last week that Brexit had damaged the UK and the UK Government has recently announced plans to adopt EU rules on agriculture and food standards.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Men’s football: England vs Uruguay friendly, Wembley Stadium
UK House of Lords continues to debate assisted dying bill
BMA union staff (not the doctors) begin 48-hour strike
Lookahead to the weekend
Saturday
WWF Earth Hour
Côte Chalonnaise Wine Marathon, Burgundy, France
100th Annual Head of River Race (effectively the Oxford-Cambridge boat race in reverse with many more crews)
Sunday
British Summer Time begins
F1 Japanese Grand Prix
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Light rain across most of England but dry in the southwest. High of 13C and low of 4C in London. Light rain in the afternoon in Belfast. Dry in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Each day is an adventure in discovering the meaning of life. It is each little thing that you do that day – whether it be spending time with your friends, running in a cross-country meet or just simply staring at the crashing ocean – that holds the key to discovering the meaning of life.
I would rather be out enjoying these things than pondering them. We may never really discover the meaning of life, but the knowledge we gain in our quest to discover it is truly more valuable.” – Jack Canfield, motivational writer
Mighty takeaway: Enjoy life!
That’s it for this Friday morning and for this week. We hope that enjoy the weekend.
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
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