Thursday 10 April 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: China responds to US tariffs
Business: Volkswagen doubles electric car sales in Europe
Markets: US and UK government bond yields rise to highest in decades
Foreign Affairs: Argentina receives $20 billion IMF bailout
Security and intelligence: Russia begins Spring offensive in Ukraine
Domestic politics: UK Chancellor: “imperative” to improve EU trade relations
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 7,679.48 (down 2.92%)
S&P 500 = 5,460.90 (up 9.52%)
Nasdaq = 17,124.97 (up 12.16%)
CAC40 = 6,863.02 (down 3.34%)
£1 = $1.28 / €1.16
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: In response to the US’s 104 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, China has retaliated with tariffs on US imports of 84 per cent. They are due to take effect today. The US has in turn retaliated with 125 per cent tariffs on China and also paused most other global tariffs for 90 days at 10 per cent.
Business: Volkswagen’s sales of battery electric vehicles have more than doubled in Europe while falling by over a third in China. They increased by 112 per cent in Europe between January and March and fell by 37 per cent in China. Six out of ten of the best-selling vehicle models in Europe are Volkswagen.
Markets: US and UK government bond yields have risen as investors sell their holdings. Yields on 30-year US government bonds briefly rose to over 5 per cent and to nearly 5.65 per cent for UK gilts – their highest level since May 1998. Investors may sell their bonds if they lose confidence in the government that issued them.
Foreign Affairs: Argentina is set to receive a $20 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support its economy. It comes after President Milei has managed to reduce inflation and public spending. Argentina already owes the IMF more than $40 billion and has received 22 loans from the IMF since 1958.
Security and intelligence: Ukraine has said that Russia has started its Spring offensive, with a doubling of frontline operations. There are reports that Russia is close to entirely pushing out Ukrainian troops from Kursk, a part of Russia held by Ukraine since August.
Domestic politics: The UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said that it is “imperative” that the UK improve its trading relationship with the EU following “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” and the “challenges in global trade”. The UK and EU are due to hold a summit on 19 May.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
“Coalition of the Willing” Defence Minister meet in Brussels
China’s retaliatory tariffs on the US take effect
UK Parliament in Easter Recess
The Masters (golf) begins
UK, France, Italy, Germany, China, Japan consumer sentiment data (February)
US CPI inflation data (March)
US jobless claims (weekly)
Company results from: Tesco
Lookahead to tomorrow
UK convenes Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels
UK Parliament in Easter Recess
UK GDP data (February)
UK industrial and manufacturing data (February)
Company results from: Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, BNY Mellon, Blackrock
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny, sunny, sunny! High of 17C and low of 5C in London.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” – Francis Chan, writer
Mighty takeaway: Don’t forget what life’s true priorities are.
That’s it for this morning. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you again soon.
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team