Daily Digest — 10 May 2026

Political upheaval struck the UK as Labour MP Catherine West threatened to trigger a leadership contest against Keir Starmer by Monday if no cabinet minister steps forward, while Reform UK surged across constituencies from Swansea to Sunderland in local elections. The pound strengthened 0.6% against the dollar amid the uncertainty, as markets appeared to welcome potential political change.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin suggested Russia’s war on Ukraine is “coming to an end” and expressed willingness to meet Zelenskyy for peace talks in a third country. Oil prices climbed 0.6% to $95.42 as geopolitical tensions remained elevated, with

Technology faced mixed signals as Google expanded its Gemini API File Search to support multimodal capabilities, while Nvidia continued its aggressive AI investment strategy, surpassing $40 billion in equity bets this year. Bitcoin held steady at \(80,783 despite [Trump Media reporting a \)406 million Q1 loss](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/05/09/trump-media-s-q1-loss-widens-to-usd406-million-on-bitcoin-cro-markdowns) driven largely by cryptocurrency markdowns.

Aviation safety concerns emerged as a Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a pedestrian during takeoff in Denver, with pilots aborting the departure after smoke was reported in the cabin. Copper surged 2% to $6.30 as industrial metals benefited from broader risk appetite.