Monday 3 August 2026
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: OPEC+ increases oil production for last time this year
Business and markets: Japan and US intervene to prop up the yen
Foreign Affairs: Italy re-introduces border checks for Spanish travellers
Security and intelligence: Italy and EU forces board Russian shadow tanker
Domestic politics: Restore Britain party suggests alliance with Reform UK
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 10,868.05 (down 0.27%)
S&P 500 = 7,489.72 (up 0.7%)
Nasdaq = 25,373.85 (up 1%)
Stoxx 500 = 6,358.01 (up 0.21%)
£1 = $1.35 / €1.17
Lab / Con / Reform = 27 / 17 / 23 per cent (Opinium, 29-31 July)
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The OPEC group of nations has agreed to increase its oil production quota by 188,000 barrels a day in September. There are reports that production will then remain stable until the end of the year.
Business and markets: The Japanese and US Governments are intervening to support the yen. The yen was close to reaching a 40-year low last week, trading at nearly 164 yen against the dollar. This is the first joint intervention since 2011. Japan’s low interest rate (currently standing at 1 per cent), rising oil prices and rising Japanese debt are all weaking the yen.
A weak yen makes imports more expensive for Japan and is troublesome for a country which imports much of its fuel and food.
Foreign Affairs: Italy has re-introduced border checks for people arriving from Spain for one month. It comes after around 50,000 to 60,000 migrants arrived at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa on Thursday and Friday last week.
Spain’s Prime Minister has condemned calls for Spain to be suspended from the EU’s border-free Schengen zone.
Security and intelligence: Italian and EU military personnel boarded an oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s shadow fleet yesterday. The ship set sail from Benin last month and was bound for Istanbul.
Russia uses its shadow fleet to evade sanctions which carries around 75 per cent of Russia’s oil.
Domestic politics: The leader of the hard-right Restore Britain party, Rupert Lowe, has offered to form an alliance with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. Lowe who was previously a Reform UK MP before being expelled, has said an alliance would be dependent on agreeing to a number of policies. These include reversing migration and a referendum on reintroducing the death penalty, among other policies.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
UK Parliament in recess
US Congress in recess
UK and Eurozone manufacturing growth data (July)
Company results from: Palantir
Lookahead to tomorrow
Possible emergency meeting of EU Interior Ministers to discuss migrant situation in Ceuta (the Spanish enclave in North Africa)
US trade data (June)
Company results from: SpaceX, BP, AMD, Saudi Aramco
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Light cloud over most of England. Sunny in the southeast. High of 31C and low of 18C in London. Light rain in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“The world only exists in your eyes. You can make it as big or as small as you want.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer
Mighty takeaway: You decide how to interpret the world and the things happening to you.
That’s it for this morning. Thanks for reading!
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team
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