Wednesday 23 July 2025
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: Pound and gilts wobble as UK Government borrowing rises
Business and markets: General Motors loses $1.1 billion due to tariffs
Foreign Affairs: Anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine targeted
Security and intelligence: UK man convicted of spying for Russia
Domestic politics: India’s Modi set to visit UK to sign trade deal tomorrow
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 9,023.81 (up 0.12%)
S&P 500 = 6,309.62 (up 0.064%)
Nasdaq = 20,892.69 (up 0.39%)
CAC40 = 7,744.41 (down 0.69%)
£1 = $1.35 / €1.15
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The pound fell in early trading against the dollar yesterday and bond yields rose after UK Government borrowing reached £20.7 billion in June. This is higher than the £17.1 billion that had been expected and has led to the highest budget deficit since 2021. The pound and bonds recovered by the end of the day.
Business and market: General Motors has said that its operating income fell by $1.1 billion in Q2 because of the impact of US tariffs. Its total revenue fell to $47 billion but its US sales increased by 7 per cent. GM is the US’s largest automobile maker by market share.
Foreign Affairs: The EU has expressed concern over a new Ukrainian law which will end the independence of two public anti-corruption agencies. The agencies will now be overseen by Ukraine’s prosecutor general – a political appointee of the President. There were protests in Kyiv yesterday following the news, which also come after allegations of corruption in President Zelensky’s government.
Security and intelligence: A British man has been found of attempting to spy for Russia. Howard Phillips, 65 years old, was caught trying to help two agents gather information about the then Defence Secretary Sir Grant Shapps in 2023. The agents were actually undercover British intelligence officers.
Domestic politics: The President of India, Narendra Modi, is set to visit the UK tomorrow to sign a trade deal. A provisional deal was agreed in May but the details had not yet been finalised. The UK Government says that the deal will add “£4.8 billion to the UK economy”.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
President Macron and Chancellor Merz meet in Berlin
UK Parliament on summer recess until September
Japan manufacturing and services growth data (July)
Company results from: Google, Tesla, IBM, Heathrow, JD Wetherspoon
Lookahead to tomorrow
EU-China summit in Beijing
UK, Eurozone manufacturing and services growth data (July)
European Central Bank interest rate decision
Company results from: Centrica, EDF, TotalEnergies, LVMH, Vodafone, BT, Lloyds, ITV, Fujitsu
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
A small chance of light rain across the UK later in the day. High of 24C and low of 15C in London.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“A simple rule for life that rarely fails: Optimize for enthusiasm. Make as many choices as you can that leave you feeling energetic and interested. Pay attention to when you have the urge to pursue or participate in something and do more of it.” – James Clear, writer
Mighty takeaway: Nothing further to add!
That’s it for this Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading!
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team