U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with FIFA President Gianni Infantino after being awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., U.S. Dec. 5, 2025.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters<\/p>\n
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to today’s edition of the Daily Open newsletter.<\/p>\n
Forgive me the football puns in today’s Daily Open, but the unprecedented move by President Trump to overturn a red card, as well as England’s win against Mexico, means that the games are dominating the agenda today. <\/p>\n
What you need to know today<\/p>\n “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”<\/p>\n That’s U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a>, thanking the international football association for overturning a red card suspension<\/a> of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun. The move comes after an extraordinary intervention from the president, who reportedly<\/a> called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and requested that he review the ban. It means Balogun is now cleared to play Belgium in today’s match in Seattle. <\/p>\n But this may not be the last of it \u2014 as Politico reports<\/a>, Europe’s football federation, UEFA, is considering supporting Belgium with its own challenge of FIFA’s ruling. <\/p>\n For Europe, it’s not all bad news. Norway defeated Brazil, while England emerged victorious against Mexico, taking them both through to the quarter-finals. <\/p>\n But while this drama unfolds, the real winners of the World Cup so far are the prediction markets. <\/p>\n Kalshi<\/a>\u00a0saw more than $31 billion in notional trading during June, a more-than 70% increase from May’s total of\u00a0$17.9 billion<\/a>, according to user-collected data on Dune Analytics. The platform has consistently managed volumes over $1 billion daily since the football tournament began on June 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n Polymarket’s<\/a>\u00a0international event contract exchange set a new record high in monthly volume last month, with notional trading exceeding $10.8 billion. That reverses a downtrend in April and May, when\u00a0volume fell<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n NATO diplomacy<\/p>\n National rivalries are not just reserved for the football pitch. <\/p>\n They will be on full display at the NATO Leaders Summit in Ankara, Turkey<\/a>. Last week, Trump set the stage with a message on Truth Social<\/a>, saying it’s “ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one sided path when the (NATO) relationship is not reciprocal. They were not there for us!!!,” in reference to the war in Iran. <\/p>\n Over the coming days, he is expected to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> to discuss Russia’s war. The Ukrainian leader has said there is “a real prospect of ending this war,” and that conversation would continue at the NATO summit in Ankara.<\/p>\n Trump’s ties to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> will also be in focus this week, amid reports they could announce deals relating to F-35 fighter jets and engines. <\/p>\n U.S. futures tick higher <\/p>\n New records are within striking distance for Wall Street. <\/p>\n Stock futures are higher<\/a> as stock markets stateside are set to reopen after the long July 4th weekend. It’s a more varied picture across Asia<\/a>, while European futures<\/a> also point to a mixed open for major indices.<\/p>\n There is also an M&A hat-trick for investors to digest this Monday morning. <\/p>\n First up, defense giant Lockheed Martin looks set to acquire naval group Ultra Maritime in a $3.5 billion deal, according to CNBC sources<\/a>. <\/p>\n Next up, British low-cost airline easyJet will accept a $7.3 billion takeover<\/a> bid from Castlelake. The offer marks a 73% premium to the group’s share price on May 29, when deal talks began. <\/p>\n And finally, Swiss drug giant Novartis is buying Myrixc Bio in a deal worth $1.5 billion. <\/p>\n \u2014 Leonie Kidd. Davis Giangiulio contributed to this report.<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n