Growth is growth 📈

I hope you’re sat down. The Superbowl happened last week (stay with me, we weren’t too fussed either) and, reached a new height of ad spend. Some thirty second ad slots sold for more than eight million dollars! That’d be an hourly rate of $960m. Fortunately for Huel, our rates are more reasonable - they pay for everyone who clicks the ad through to their website, so, you know…

Whether or not companies can make a direct return from Superbowl ads is anyone’s guess. Some companies, like Apple, will see it as a pocket change flex to reinforce their brand image (it’s worth remembering that fewer than ten countries have a GDP worth more than Apple’s value). We hope that makes you feel better about the meal you forked out for on Valentine’s Day!

MARKETS

Data: Google Finance, 5-day Market Close

Notable UK earnings this week: HSBC (HSBA), Rio Tinto (RIO), Glencore (GLEN), Lloyds Banking (LLOY), BAE Systems (BA.), AngloAmerican (AAL).

Notable US earnings this week: Walmart (WMT), Alibaba (BABA), Booking (BKNG).

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PROJECT WATCH

🏠 Graham wins £100m contract for Leeds housing build. Read more

🚂 HS2 contract winners include Colas Rail for £206m of Overhead Catenary System (OCS). Read more

🌊 Synergia looking for new parter on North Sea carbon capture project. Read more

☢️ Hinkley Point C construction peak to create 3,000 jobs in next 18 months. Read more

ECONOMY & FINANCE

Gains are gains… even for the economy
The UK economy has sneakily grown by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Yes, it's like discovering an extra biscuit in the tin—a modest boost, but cheering nonetheless (to the government, at least). Labour hopes this minor miracle will help put some fizz back into the nation’s flat economic tonic.

December's performance was a key driver—up 0.4% from November, courtesy of the services sector working its magic. The pound felt invigorated too, climbing 0.7% against the under-the-weather dollar. Who knew a bit of winter cheer would send the pound into a fandango?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is eagerly backing projects like a third runway at Heathrow and Oxford-Cambridge transport links, although you might suggest she first find a GPS to navigate the choppy fiscal waters ahead. Throughout 2024, the economy expanded by a mere 0.9%. Compare that to the high-flying US at 2.8%—clearly someone’s been having their Weetabix across the pond.

Steely resolve in the face of tariffs
The UK government has spruced up their steel investment plans, launching a £2.5bn campaign to bolster the industry. Why the rush, you ask? Donald Trump has reappeared and slapped a 25% tariff on US-bound steel and aluminium.

Jonathan Reynolds, our business secretary, published "Plan for Steel" on Sunday, obviously not a romantic novel, but instead a green paper designed to soothe the government's economic heartache. Reynolds insists this steel strategy was always on the cards, even before Trump’s stateside shenanigans forced the hand of urgency.

While the EU and Canada are booting up their retaliatory disco shoes, the UK stands resolute. We’re apparently playing nice, hoping to sweet-talk our way to a peaceful resolution, rather than rocking the boat and risking souring £400m of annual steel exports. It's the sort of diplomacy that makes you wonder if we should send him flowers and chocolates next.

Port Talbot in south Wales is set to benefit handsomely, with plans for a £500m splurge on new steel production, and Heathrow’s decision to use UK steel in its ambitious expansion plans, including possibly that contentious third runway, offers another silver lining.

POLITICS

Starmer joins Europe
Keir Starmer is heading to a European crisis summit after the US made it clear—Europe won’t have a seat at the table in its Ukraine peace talks. With Trump’s White House pushing for Ukraine to cede land to Russia, Europe is scrambling to assert itself, with Zelensky urging the continent to build its own army.

Macron has called an emergency meeting in Paris, where Starmer will push for a stronger European role in NATO. He’ll then jet off to Washington to press the case with Trump, who, after a chat with Putin, seems happy to cut Europe out of the equation.

MPs want to muzzle the commons
The House of Commons could soon sound a lot less like a rowdy pub and more like a particularly dull Monday meeting. A new push for parliamentary reform aims to make the place more "inclusive"—which, in Westminster terms, means clamping down on heckling, outdated jargon, and MPs moonlighting as reality TV stars.

Traditionalists are already horrified, arguing that if PMQs is turned into a polite discussion group, it’ll end up as riveting as a council planning meeting. But with MPs under fire for raking in cash from second (and third, fourth, or fifth) jobs, the public might be more interested in seeing them turn up for work than in how they behave when they get there.

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ACROSS THE POND

Art of the bribe?
In a controversial brushstroke over the canvas of international business ethics, President Donald Trump has given the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) a breather. Trump declared that the "horrible law" makes the world laugh at good ol’ America for playing the game fair.

The FCPA has been around since 1977, guiding American companies in navigating the global business waters without falling foul of corruption. But Trump's new order pauses this enforcement, bringing in Pam Bondi to re-evaluate the rule book.

Trump insists that curbing this law will level the playing field for American companies who previously felt handcuffed by ethical obligations. Multinational corporations like Goldman Sachs, Glencore, and Walmart haven't exactly had a smooth sail with the law. With 26 FCPA-related enforcement actions in 2024 alone, Trump's call for "revised, reasonable enforcement guidelines" might be met with rosy-cheeked smiles by those paying hefty legal bills.

The final (paper) straw
Donald Trump has announced a ban on federal use of paper straws, declaring they simply don’t cut the mustard when it comes to durability. Instead, he's ordered a return to trusty plastic straws. Yes, all that eco-conscious straw-twirling has been muddled by a presidential suck-back to plastic.

Trump, ever the straw-man builder, signed an executive order to halt efforts spearheaded by the Biden administration to phase out single-use plastics by 2035. His opposing decree is aimed squarely at putting the kibosh on paper, seemingly giving ocean-bound turtles yet another reason to duck for cover.

This comes amidst a global scramble to address plastic pollution, with the UK and other nations frantically vying for a treaty to stem the tide of single-use plastics. The UK may feel like a drop in the ocean of the 390 million plastic straws used daily in the United States.

TECH

UK to AI summit: "we'll pass, cheers"
World leaders flocked to Paris to tame AI, but while Macron fist-bumped robots, the UK and the US left without signing a thing.

The US feared regulation would choke innovation, while the UK wanted tougher rules on security. Meanwhile, experts warned of AI chaos—think cyber-attacks, rogue bots, and DIY tools. Fun.

YouTube at 20
Originally pitched as a dating site, YouTube quickly pivoted. “Me at the zoo” was its first upload—before copyright wars, algorithm rabbit holes, and Google’s $1.6bn takeover reshaped the internet. YouTube has been the Wild West of content for two decades—a cultural goldmine.

Barnacle Bill’s big comeback
The UK's first sea turtle rehab centre has opened in Brighton, just in time for its first patient: Barnacle Bill, a loggerhead turtle found floating off Guernsey, covered in—you guessed it—barnacles.

Experts blame climate change for the rising number of stranded turtles, who are being thrown off course by storms and cold waters. But Bill’s getting VIP treatment—wave machines, foraging training, and a one-way ticket back to the wild aboard a Royal Navy warship.

WORLD

Salty sailor wowed
A Chilean kayaker got an unexpected close-up with a humpback whale after being briefly scooped into its mouth before being swiftly spat back out. Adrián Simancas was paddling off Patagonia when the 40-tonne mammal lunged from the depths, mistaking him for a meal.

Marine experts were quick to clarify—despite the viral jokes, humpbacks can’t swallow humans. Their oesophaguses are too small, and their baleen plates filter krill, not kayakers. Still, scientists warn against getting too close. Whales don’t mean harm, but a misplaced flick of a fin could end far worse. Simancas, now famous, says he’ll be sticking to dry land for a while. Sensible.

Japan moves to rice reserves as prices soar
Rice, Japan’s most essential staple, has become eye-wateringly expensive, forcing the government to release 210,000 tonnes of emergency stockpiles to bring costs down.

Extreme heat, supply chain chaos, and panic buying have pushed prices up over 50%, leaving shoppers paying premium rates for a bowl of the basics. Officials hope flooding the market will stabilise prices without triggering a crash.

There’s still tea in the pot...
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Cuppa Chat: Cheat Sheet

🎥🎉 The BAFTA Film Awards took place at London's Royal Festival Hall. "Conclave" and "The Brutalist" won big with four awards award and Warwick Davis was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy's highest accolade.

🎨🏛️ Banksy's piranhas artwork will be displayed at the new London Museum in Smithfield next year. The work features fish making an aquarium from a police box and was donated by the City of London Corporation.

🎾🚫 World number one Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month tennis ban following two positive drug tests. WADA noted the banned substance was unintentionally used and provided no performance benefit.

🎤🎶 Drake will headline all three nights at this year's Wireless Festival in London, marking his first UK performance in six years.