Monday 22 September 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: Fitch upgrades Italy’s credit rating, downgrades France
Business and markets: Berkshire Hathaway exits BYD
Foreign Affairs: Japanese scientists win Ig Nobel prize for painted cows
Security and intelligence: German fighter jets intercept Russian jets
Domestic politics: UK recognises a Palestinian state
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 9,216.67 (down 0.12%)
S&P 500 = 6,664.36 (up 0.49%)
Nasdaq = 22,631.48 (up 0.72%)
CAC40 = 7,853.59 (down 0.013%)
£1 = $1.35 / €1.15
Lab / Con / Reform: 22 / 17 / 31 per cent
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Credit rating agency Fitch has upgraded Italy’s credit rating for the first time since 2021.
It is based on Italy’s fiscal performance and stable political environment under Prime Minister Meloni.
France, by contrast, has had its credit rating downgraded to its lowest level on record because of a lack of a plan on the country’s debt.
Business and markets: Berkshire Hathaway has exited its position in Chinese carmaker BYD. Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger bought 225 million shares in BYD for $230 million in 2008. At the time, Munger had said that BYD and its CEO were a “miracle”. Since then, the stock has increased by around 3890 per cent.
Foreign Affairs: A team of Japanese scientists has won the Ig Nobel prize for its research on whether cows painted with zebra stripes can avoid being bitten by flies.
The Ig Nobel prize is a take on the Nobel Prize and rewards amusing but potentially important research.
The Japanese scientists’ work did find that zebra stripes on cows reduce fly bites. This could result in fewer pesticides being used to kill flies in the future.
Security and intelligence: German Eurofighter jets were scrambled yesterday to intercept two Russian military aircraft above the Baltic Sea.
It comes after three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace on Friday and Russian drones flew into Poland and Romania last weekend.
Domestic politics: The UK Government, along with Canada and Australia, have formally recognised a Palestinian state. The Prime Minister says the move would keep alive “the possibility of peace”. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu said it was a “reward for terrorism”.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Rosh Hashanah begins (Jewish new year)
Eurozone consumer confidence (September)
UK Parliament in recess
Lookahead to tomorrow
Japan public holiday (autumn equinox)
President Trump addresses the UN General Assembly
Sir Ed Davey gives speech at Liberal Democrat party conference
Booker Prize shortlist announced
UK manufacturing growth data (September) – expected to rise from 47 to 49
UK services growth data (September) – expected to fall from 54.7 to 51.7
Company results from: Raspberry Pi, Kingfisher, Smiths Group
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny across England. High of 16C and low of 5C in London. Light cloud in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“If you are going to be a winner, you have to acknowledge the truth—it is you who took the actions, thought the thoughts, created the feelings, and made the choices that got you to where you now are. It was you!” – Jack Canfield, motivational writer
Mighty takeaway: Where you are today is the result of the thoughts you had and actions you took in the past. Where you are tomorrow is the result of the thoughts you have and actions you take today.
That’s it for this Monday morning. Thanks for reading and we hope you have a great week!
Adios!
The Mighty Memo team