Wednesday 22 April 2026
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: US Fed Chair nominee asserts Fed’s independence
Business and markets: John Ternus to replace Tim Cook as Apple CEO
Foreign Affairs: Six people charged over attempted coup in Nigeria
Security and intelligence: Japan removes restrictions on weapons exports
Domestic politics: FCO chief gives evidence to Parliament on Mandelson Affair
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 10,498.09 (down 1.05%)
S&P 500 = 7,064.01 (down 0.63%)
Nasdaq = 24,259.96 (down 0.59%)
CAC40 = 616.03 (down 0.87%)
£1 = $1.35 / €1.15
Lab / Con / Reform / Green = 16 / 17 / 27 / 17 per cent (YouGov, 19-20 April)
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: At his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, US Federal Reserve Chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, asserted the independence of the Fed from the President in setting interest rates. President Trump has publicly pressured outgoing Chair, Jerome Powell, to lower rates.
Business and markets: John Ternus has been appointed as the new CEO of Apple, effective from the 1st September 2026. Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001 and is currently Senior Vice President for Hardware Engineering.
Current CEO, Tim Cook, took over from co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011 and will become Executive Chairman of the $4 trillion company.
Reported near-term challenges for Apple include addressing concerns that the company is falling behind in the AI race.
Foreign Affairs: Authorities in Nigeria have charged six people over a conspiracy to overthrow President Bola Tinubu. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has not had a coup since it returned to democracy in 1999.
Security and intelligence: Japan has removed nearly all restrictions on weapons exports. It means that the country will be able to sell lethal weapons overseas for the first time since World War II.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, is seeking to shore up the country’s defence industrial base.
The Chinese Government condemned the move and suggested that Japan was reviving its war machine.
Domestic politics: The former head of the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, indicated in evidence to Parliament yesterday that the Foreign Office was put under pressure from Downing Street to approve Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador in Washington. The Government says that the right processes were followed but the decision to appoint Mandelson was wrong.
Sir Olly Robbin’s testimony is available here.
A transcript of the Emergency Debate on the issue in Parliament yesterday is available here.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
Prime Minister’s Questions in UK House of Commons
US Treasury Secretary appears before US Senate Committee
Company results from: Tesla, Boeing, IBM, L’Oreal
Lookahead to tomorrow
Warner Bros. shareholders vote on Paramount deal
Cabinet Office Questions in UK Parliament
Company results from: Sainsbury’s, Nokia, Intel, Renault, ASOS, American Airlines, Heineken, Nestle
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny across much of England but cloudy in the southwest. High of 17C and low of 7C in London. Sunny in Belfast. Sunny spells in Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Do not be afraid of your difficulties. Do not wish you could be in other circumstances than you are. For when you have made the best of an adversity, it becomes the stepping stone to a splendid opportunity.” – H.P. Blavatsky, spiritualist and writer
Mighty takeaway: Ask yourself how you can make the best of the difficult situation in which you find yourself. What is an opportunity it could be presenting to you?
That’s it for this morning. We’ll see you again on Friday.
Au revoir!
The Mighty Memo team
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