Monday 7 April 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: US Treasury Secretary denies recession
Business: Minecraft movie grosses $300 million at opening weekend
Markets: S&P 500 loses $5.4 trillion in two days
Foreign Affairs I: France’s Le Pen vows to fight on
Foreign Affairs II: Massive housing protests in Spain
Domestic politics: UK to “turbocharge” competitiveness after US tariffs
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,054.98 (down 4.95%)
S&P 500 = 5,074.08 (down 5.97%)
Nasdaq = 15,587.79 (down 5.82%)
CAC40 = 7,274.95 (down 4.26%)
£1 = $1.29 / €1.18
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied suggestions of a US recession following the new US tariffs regime. Bessent added that countries trading with the US had been “bad actors for a long time” and that trade issues could not be negotiated away in a few days or weeks. On Saturday, President Trump urged the American people to “hang tough”.
Business: The film “A Minecraft Movie” has had the highest grossing opening weekend of any film this year. It took in around $300 million globally this weekend. The film is based on “Minecraft”, one of the world’s best-selling video games which has sold over 300 million copies. The production budget is reported to have been around $150 million.
Markets: Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has warned of further market turbulence after the S&P 500 lost $5.4 trillion in two days last week. Summers said stock movements last week were the highest since World War Two after the 1987 crash, the 2008 crisis and the Covid-19 outbreak. He suggested there would be a $30 trillion hit to the US economy.
Foreign Affairs: At a rally in Paris yesterday, the leader of the France’s National Rally party Marine Le Pen called her conviction for embezzlement a “witch hunt”. The conviction effectively bans her for standing for the Presidency in 2027. She said her fight against the conviction would be “peaceful” and that she would follow Martin Luther King Jr as an example.
Foreign Affairs II: Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets on Saturday demanding access to affordable housing. There are reports of a 150,000-strong protest group in Madrid and protests in 40 other cities. Public housing for rent makes up only 2 per cent of housing in Spain compared to 16 per cent in the UK and 34 per cent in the Netherlands.
Domestic politics: The UK Government has promised to move “further and faster” in response to US tariffs. In the coming days, the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would “turbocharge plans” to improve UK competitiveness which include easing regulation on electric car manufacturers.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
President Macron visit Egypt
Housing Questions in UK Parliament
UK Prime Minister gives speech on US tariffs
EU Trade Ministers discuss US tariffs
UK house price data (March)
Germany trade data (February)
Lookahead to tomorrow
King and Queen begin state visit to Italy
UK Prime Minister appears at Liaison Committee hearing
US Trade Representative appears at Senate Committee hearing
Treasury Questions in UK Parliament
France trade data (February)
US small business optimism data (March)
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny and dry across the UK. High of 16C and low of 3C in London.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Everything passes if you learn to hold things lightly.” – Oprah Winfrey
Mighty takeaway: What we resists persists. Let go!
That’s it for this morning. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you again soon.
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team