Wednesday 8 April 2026
The Mighty Headlines
Economics: IMF warns of Iran war effects on economic growth
Business and markets: Investors speculate on SpaceX’s IPO
Foreign Affairs: JD Vance visits Hungary to endorse Prime Minister Orban
Security and intelligence: Taiwan opposition party starts China visit
Domestic politics: UK Government temporarily caps interest on student loans
The Mighty Stats
FTSE = 10,348.79 (down 0.84%)
S&P 500 = 6,616.85 (up 0.076%)
Nasdaq = 22,017.85 (up 0.098%)
Stoxx 600 = 590.59 (down 1.01%)
£1 = $1.33 / €1.15
Lab / Con / Reform / Green = 15 / 18 / 26 / 20 per cent
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The Mighty Detail
Economics: The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has said that the effect of the Iran war on the global economy means that “all roads now lead to higher prices and slower growth”. Before the conflict, the IMF had predicted 3.3 per cent global growth this year but there are now concerns about stagflation.
Business and markets: The Procure Space ETF attracted nearly $175 million of investment in Q1 2026. The significant inflow may be the result of investors seeking to profit from SpaceX’s IPO which may come as early as June.
An ETF is an investment fund that holds multiple assets and can be traded on the stock market like normal stock.
The target valuation of SpaceX (which is run by Elon Musk) is around $2 trillion.
Foreign Affairs: US Vice President, JD Vance, visited Hungary yesterday. He endorsed the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, ahead of Hungarian Parliamentary elections on Sunday. Vance also accused the EU of election interference.
Orban, who is a close ally of President Putin, remains around 10 points behind the front-runner Péter Magyar.
Magyar suggested that JD Vance’s visit was tantamount to election interference.
Security and intelligence: The chair of Taiwan’s opposition party, Cheng Li-wun, started a six-day “peace” visit to China yesterday. It is the first such visit by the party’s chair in 10 years and comes at President Xi’s invitation. When it was in Government, the KMT’s attempts to forge closer ties with China led to the 2014 “Sunflower Movement” protests in Taiwan.
Domestic politics: The UK Government has temporarily capped the interest rate on certain student loans at 6 per cent. The existing rate is RPI + 3 per cent. The new measure will take effect from the 1st September for the 2026/27 academic year.
The Mighty Calendar
What’s happening today?
No PMQs (UK House of Commons still in recess)
Welsh Senedd dissolved ahead of elections
Company results from: Shell, Delta Air Lines
Lookahead to tomorrow
Fifth anniversary of the death of Prince Philip
Scottish Parliament dissolved ahead of elections
Masters (golf) tournament begins
US GDP data (Q4 2024)
Company results from: Tata Consultancy
The Mighty Finale
🌤️Weather today
Sunny across England. High of 24C and low of 10C in London. Overcast in Belfast and Edinburgh.
✏️Life coaching quote of the day
“Ignore age-related milestones (graduation, house purchases, marriage, children, career progress, retirement).
The age at which you achieve these milestones doesn’t matter, if you are confident that you will achieve them at some point in the future (and if they are what you really want).
You don’t have to rush or stress about achieving them and you can enjoy your journey through life instead.” – A conversation between two friends overheard by one of the Mighty Memo team in a park on Tuesday afternoon.
Mighty takeaway: Enjoy life’s journey!
That’s it for this morning. See you on Friday!
Cheerio!
The Mighty Memo team
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