Monday 20 October 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: France’s credit rating downgraded due to “policy uncertainty”
Business and markets: FTSE 100 suffers worst day since April
Foreign Affairs: Pro-China politician becomes Taiwan’s opposition leader
Security and intelligence: Putin wants Donetsk in deal with Ukraine
Domestic politics: UK Energy Secretary suggests VAT may be cut on energy bills
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 9,354.57 (down 0.86%)
S&P 500 = 6,664.01 (up 0.53%)
Nasdaq = 22,679.98 (up 0.52%)
CAC40 = 8,174.20 (down 0.18%)
£1 = $1.34 / €1.15
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: In an unscheduled update, S&P Global has downgraded France’s credit rating.
France’s rating now stands at AA-/A-1+, down from A+/A-1.
S&P Global gave “policy uncertainty” in the country as the reason and explained this would affect investment activity, private consumption and economic growth.
Business and markets: The FTSE 100 had its worst day since April on Friday. It came as concerns about the health of US regional banks, and unease about their bad loans, affected stock markets globally.
Foreign Affairs: Taiwan’s main opposition party, the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT), has elected Cheng Li-wun as its new leader. Cheng is vocally pro-China and is against increased defence spending.
The KMT lost the Presidential election last year but holds the most seats in Parliament, with its ally the Taiwan People’s Party.
The governing Democratic Progressive Party does not favour closer Chinese ties.
Security and intelligence: President Putin reportedly told President Trump last week that Russia wants to keep the Donetsk region of Ukraine but would allow Ukraine to keep Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in return. In an interview aired yesterday, President Trump said that Russia would likely keep the land it had occupied since February 2022.
Domestic politics: The UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, has suggested that the 5 per cent rate of VAT on energy bills could be cut. Such a move could save the average household around £86 a year.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
President Trump hosts Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Professor Sir Chris Whitty appears at UK Covid-19 inquiry
Education Questions in UK Parliament
China GDP data (Q3) – expected to increase from 5.2% to 5.4%
Lookahead to tomorrow
Boris Johnson appears at UK Covid-19 inquiry
Sanae Takaichi expected to become Japan’s first female Prime Minister
Health Questions in UK Parliament
Canada CPI inflation data (September) – expected to increase to 2.7%
Company results from: Netflix, Coca-Cola, Lockhead Martin, General Motors
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Light rain across most of England. Thundery showers in the southwest. High of 15C and low of 11C in London. Thundery showers in Belfast. Sunny spells in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond our power or our will.” – Epictetus, Ancient Greek philosopher
Mighty takeaway: Don’t worry about things which are out of your control. To worry in such circumstances is a useless activity.
That’s it for this Monday morning. Thanks for reading and we hope that you have an excellent start to the week.
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
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