Wednesday 1 October 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: China’s manufacturing falls for 6 months consecutively
Business and markets: London stock market falls out of top 20 for IPOs
Foreign Affairs: Taliban shutdowns the internet in Afghanistan
Security and intelligence: UN Security Council sends troops to Haiti
Domestic politics: Rachel Reeves set to scrap two-child benefit cap
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 9,350.43 (up 0.54%)
S&P 500 = 6,688.46 (up 0.41%)
Nasdaq = 22,660.01 (up 0.3%)
CAC40 = 7,895.94 (up 0.19%)
£1 = $1.34 / €1.15
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: Chinese manufacturing activity has fallen for a sixth consecutive month. This is the longest sustained fall since 2019. Uncertainty about US trade and slow domestic demand are thought to have contributed to the decline.
Business and markets: London has fallen out of the top 20 places for IPOs according to a Bloomberg league table. Initial Public Offerings – the term for when a company goes public – fell by 69 per cent this year in London to $248 million. It is the smallest number in over 35 years and puts London behind Mexico and Oman.
Foreign Affairs: Internet services have been shut down in Afghanistan and the shutdown is set to last indefinitely.
The Taliban Government says it has been cutting fibre-optic cables recent weeks in an attempt to improve morality in the country.
The move has affected services across the country, with flights grounded at Kabul International Airport.
Security and intelligence: The UN Security Council has agreed for troops to be sent to Haiti, which is struggling with severe gang-related violence. Laurent Saint-Cyr, who runs the Haitian Transitional Presidential Council, called his country “a contemporary Guernica” and “a human tragedy on America’s doorstep”.
Domestic politics: There are reports that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will abandon the two-child benefit cap at the budget in November.
The policy was introduced in April 2017 and limits child benefits to two children per family for children born after April 2017.
Scrapping the policy could cost around £3.5 billion.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Hong Kong and China public holidays (national days)
Yom Kippur (holiest holiday in the Jewish calendar)
Deputy Leadership candidate hustings at Labour Party conference
Pink Ladies protests in London (anti-immigration protest)
Eurozone inflation data (September) – expected to remain at 2.3%
Lookahead to tomorrow
India public holiday (to celebrate the birth of Gandhi)
European Political Community Summit, Denmark
Eurozone unemployment data (August) – expected to remain at 6.2%
US initial jobless claims (weekly) – expected to increase to 229,000
Company results from: Tesco
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Dry with sunny spells in the south. Light rain in the north. High of 18C and low of 9C in London. Light rain in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“The only way to develop true confidence is to earn it.
The confidence that you can bounce back from failure is earned by working through previous failures.
The confidence that you can deliver the speech is earned by the previous speeches you have given.
The confidence that you can perform on game day is earned by the previous performances in practice.
In the beginning, you need enough courage to practice even though it may not go very well. And over time, as your skills improve, courage transforms into confidence. Courage first, confidence later.” – James Clear, writer
Mighty takeaway: You may not feel confident the first time you do something, but keep pushing yourself. You will progress and become more confident.
That’s it for this Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading and take those courageous first steps!
Bye!
The Mighty Memo team
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