Thursday 8 May 2025
*THERE WILL BE A NATIONAL TWO-MINUTE SILENCE IN THE UK AT 12.00PM TODAY TO MARK THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF VE DAY.*
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: US Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged
Business: Trainline to take “assertive” stance with UK Government
Markets: Disney shares rise by over 10 per cent yesterday
Foreign Affairs: Denmark summons US ambassador over espionage claims
Security and intelligence: Iranians arrested over Israeli Embassy terror plot
Domestic politics: UK Government to tighten UK residency rules
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 8,559.33 (down 0.44%)
S&P 500 = 5,631.28 (up 0.43%)
Nasdaq = 17,738.16 (up 0.27%)
CAC40 = 7,626.84 (down 0.91%)
£1 = $1.33 / €1.18
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The US Federal Reserve has kept US interest rates unchanged, keeping its range of 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent. It said that the US economy was resilient and doing “fairly well” but that tariffs had created economic uncertainty. Separately, the Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision at lunchtime today.
Business: The train ticketing company Trainline has said that it is taking an “increasingly assertive stance” with the UK Government over fairness and competition. It comes as the UK Government said it planned to launch a rival train ticketing service of its own. Trainline’s revenues increased to £442 million last year but its share price has fallen by a third because of concerns with the Government’s plans.
Markets: Shares in Disney rose by over 10 per cent during trading yesterday. It came as the entertainment company announced revenue for the quarter of $23.62 billion, beating analysts’ expectations. Disney also said yesterday that it would open a new theme park in Abu Dhabi, its first in the Middle East.
Foreign Affairs: Denmark is summoning the US ambassador to Copenhagen. It follows reports that US intelligence agencies have been ordered to increase their surveillance activities in Greenland. Priority areas are said to be Greenland’s independence movement and Greenlanders’ attitudes towards the US extracting resources from the territory.
Security and intelligence: It is being reported that the five Iranian men arrested in England on Saturday may have been planning a terrorist attack on the Israeli Embassy in London. A Home Office minister, Dan Jarvis, said earlier this week that the arrests were part of some of the “largest counter-state threats and counter-terrorism actions” seen in recent times.
Domestic politics: The UK Government is set to make it more difficult for migrants to gain permanent residency in the UK. Under the proposals, migrants could be required to wait 10 years before applying for permanent residency. The current qualifying period is 5 years. The policy may be the result of political pressure on immigration from UK opposition parties.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
VE Day 80th Anniversary celebrations
King and Queen attend VE Day service at Westminster Abbey
Environment Questions in UK Parliament
Bank of England interest rate decision
UK house price data (April)
Germany trade data (March)
Japan household spending data (March)
US initial jobless claims (weekly)
Company results from: Toyota, Nintendo, Warner Bros, Paramount, Coinbase, News Corp
Lookahead to tomorrow
President Macron and President Tusk expected to sign security deal
President Putin and President Xi attend VE Day parade in Moscow, Russia
Joint Expeditionary Force Leaders’ Summit, Oslo, Norway
European Foreign Ministers meeting, Kyiv, Ukraine
UK industrial and manufacturing data (March)
Canada employment data (April)
China trade data (April)
China CPI inflation data (April)
Company results from: Results from: International Airlines Group, Panasonic, Nippon Steel, Commerzbank
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Patchy cloud and sun across England today. High of 18C and low of 6C in London. Bright sunshine in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Maybe it's not about having a beautiful day, but about finding beautiful moments. Maybe a whole day is just too much to ask. I could choose to believe that in every day, in all things, no matter how dark and ugly, there are shards of beauty if I look for them.” – Anna White, writer
Mighty takeaway: Find one good thing that has happened to you if your day is not going to plan. Think how fortunate you were to have that one good thing happen to you! It was a unique moment, just for you.
That’s it for this Thursday morning. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you tomorrow.
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team