Monday 2 February 2026
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: Profile of new US Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh
Business and markets: Silver plunges in worst day since 1980
Foreign Affairs: Denmark to deport foreign criminals contrary to ECHR
Security and intelligence: US and Israel’s top generals meet at the Pentagon
Domestic politics: PM says UK should reconsider joining EU defence fund
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 10,223.54 (up 0.51%)
S&P 500 = 6,939.03 (down 0.43%)
Nasdaq = 23,461.82 (down 0.94%)
Stoxx 600 = 611.00 (up 0.64%)
£1 = $1.38 / €1.15
UK national poll
Lab / Con / Reform = 20 / 17 / 32 (BMG Research, 28-29 January)
Gorton and Denton by-election (set for 26 February 2026)
Lab / Reform / Green = 27 / 30 / 17 per cent (Find Out Now, 25-27 Jan)
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: President Trump has nominated 55-year-old Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the US Federal Reserve. Who is Kevin Warsh? Here is a profile:
Worked at Morgan Stanely from 1995 to 2002.
Served from 2006 to 2011 on the US Federal Reserve Board (nominated by George W. Bush). Aged 35, he was the youngest ever Board Governor.
Currently works as a lecturer at Standford University.
Outspoken critic of the Fed, calling for “regime change” in July 2025, and considered to be more amenable to lowering interest rates.
Married to Jane Lauder, heiress to the Estée Lauder fortune.
Business and markets: The price of silver fell by 31.4 per cent on Friday to around $78.54 – its worst performance since March 1980. It came after Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair and investors gained confidence in the dollar. This made gold and silver more expensive for foreign buyers.
Precious metals have gained in popularity in recent months, partly as a hedge against geopolitical and trade uncertainties, and dollar weakness (the so-called “debasement trade”).
Foreign Affairs: The Danish Government has announced new measures to deport foreign criminals who receive a sentence of at least one year in prison for serious crimes. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said criminals could not currently be deported because of the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights and this would effectively bypass that process.
Security and intelligence: The US and Israel’s top generals, Dan Caine and Eyal Zamir, met at the Pentagon on Friday, amid increasing tensions with Iran over its nuclear programme. Nuclear talks with the US are ongoing but Iran has separately said that any attack from the US would spark a “regional war”.
Domestic politics: The UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has said that the UK should considering re-entering talks to join the EU’s €150 billion defence fund.
Non-EU countries such as Canada have agreed to join, but the UK previously said that the price of participation (around €6 billion) was too high.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Mexico public holiday (Constitution Day)
New Lords Speaker, Lord Forsyth, takes office in UK House of Lords
Defence Questions in UK House of Commons
UK, Eurozone manufacturing growth data (January)
Deadline for BMA’s ballot on extending resident doctors’ strike
Lookahead to tomorrow
President Trump hosts Colombia’s President Petro in Washington DC
Justice Questions in UK House of Commons
France CPI inflation data (January) – set to fall from 0.8% to 0.6%
Japan manufacturing growth data (January)
Company results from: Disney, Palantir
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Light rain possible in much of England and particularly in the southwest. High of 9C and low of 6C in London. Cloudy in Belfast and light rain in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“One of the best secrets of a happy life is the art of extracting comfort and sweetness from every circumstance…
People are always looking for happiness at some future time and in some new thing, or some new set of circumstances, in possession of which they some day expect to find themselves. But the fact is, if happiness is not found now, where we are, and as we are, there is little chance of it ever being found. There is a great deal more happiness around us day by day than we have the sense or power to seek and find.
If we are to cultivate the art of living, we should cultivate the art of extracting sweetness and comfort out of everything, as the bee goes from flower to flower in search of honey.” – Thomas Mitchell, farmer and writer
Mighty takeaway: Find ways to enjoy your day and to be grateful for it.
That’s it for this Monday morning. Thank you for reading today and we’ll see you again on Wednesday.
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
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