Google: EU antitrust regulators say they are investigating Google's data collection

GOOGLE: EU antitrust regulators are investigating Google's collection of data, the European Commission told Reuters on Saturday, suggesting the world's most popular internet search engine remains in its sights despite record fines in recent years.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-alphabet-antitrust-exclusive/exclusive-eu-antitrust-regulators-say-they-are-investigating-googles-data-collection-idUKKBN1Y40NX

USA: Dow Jones Today: Stocks Drop On China Turmoil; Apple Algorithm Probed - by A.R. Elliot

Stocks came off their early lows in Monday's Veterans Day trading session, as political unrest in Hong Kong upended confidence across global markets. A slow start to a big earnings week left analyst actions and company news driving early trade. Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Home Depot (HD) lagged on the Dow Jones today, following downgrades. Apple (APPL) traded lower as New York regulators announced a company probe.

Read more at: Dow Jones Today: Stocks Drop On China Turmoil; Apple Algorithm Probed | Investor's Business Daily

China-US Trade war: China lashes out after Trump signs bills supporting Hong Kong protesters

Read more at: China lashes out after Trump signs bills supporting Hong Kong protesters - MarketWatch

EU parliament approves, von der Leyen, commission team,Presidency

Brussels’ next top official Ursula von der Leyen will take office on Sunday after winning a comfortable parliamentary majority for her plan to build a green superpower.

Read more at:
https://www.france24.com/en/20191127-eu-parliament-approves-new-commission-team-von-der-leyen

The Netherlands: Rutte Government under fire over costly healthcare and educational student loan programs - by RM

The Netherlands privatized Healthcare and Educational programs are not proving to be one of  the Dutch PM's Rutte success stories. As a matter of fact, they are both a disaster, too costly and worst of all undemocratic.

It seems that Mr. Rutte and some of his colleages in the Dutch Government don't seem to be aware that education and healthcare, are not, and can never be seen as marketable commodities.

They are a basic democratic right for everyone, poor or rich, and must be free and widely available to all citizens.

The present privatized health and educational programs, applied by the Dutch Government and a few other Governments in the EU, and around the world, are not only undemocratic, they are also proving to be a financial barrier in providing proper education and healthcare to every level of the population, and when all is said and done, actually do not benefit the overall economy.

It is regrettable that some countries, including the Netherlands, have turned these basic human rights, related to education and healthcare, into marketable commodities.

Almere-Digest

Global Economy:The Calm Before the Economic Storm - by John Mauldin

The Friday after Thanksgiving is known for heavy spending in retail stores, but it’s clear that consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet to make their holiday purchases,” said Comscore Chairman Gian Fulgoni at the time. “Online spending on Black Friday has historically represented an early indicator of how the rest of the season will shake out. That the 22-percent growth rate versus last year is outpacing the overall growth rate for the first three weeks of the season should be seen as a sign of positive momentum.

The Great Recession began one month after this “sign of positive momentum.” A strong holiday shopping season won’t mean we are out of the woods and could mean we are just entering them.

Read more at:The Calm Before the Economic Storm | Equities.com

US economy: after holiday forecasts disappoint

The holiday season is no longer expected to pull corporate earnings out of a recession that has lasted the entire year..

Read more at:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/earnings-recession-is-expected-to-swallow-all-of-2019-after-holiday-forecasts-disappoint-2019-11-22

WTO: Canada urges U.S. to save WTO from chaos " brought on by the US Trump Administration"

The global trading system that took decades to build is days away from disarray as the U.S. appears keen to paralyze the World Trade Organization's enforcement system.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-urges-u-s-to-save-wto-from-chaos-1.5369843

ECB: Christine Lagarde′s first speech as ECB chief: The Main Points

The European Central Bank's new president has urged European countries to invest and innovate as concerns of an economic slowdown intensify. She warned that export growth could no longer be relied upon to boost growth.

Read more at:

• https://www.dw.com/en/christine-lagardes-first-speech-as-ecb-cPolicyu Speechhief-the-main-points/a-51370974

Tourism: Spain set for tourism record as U.S. visitors counter Brexit blues

Spain is on track for a record year of tourist arrivals, the seventh straight year of new highs, with U.S. and Asian visitors countering the disruption of Brexit and collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook, the industry minister said on Wednesday.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-economy-tourism/spain-set-for-tourism-record-as-u-s-visitors-counter-brexit-blues-idUKKBN1XU20E

EU-Singapore free trade agreement comes into force - by Choo Yun Ting

The landmark trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore, which removes nearly all Customs duties between the two jurisdictions, comes into force today.

The reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) provides Singapore companies with greater market access to all EU member states.

It also containsrules on trade and sustainable development, including the protection of labour rights and the environment.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted that it has been almost a decade since negotiations began.

Mr Lee added that Singapore hopes that the agreement will eventually lead to an EU-Asean FTA, enhancing region-to-region connectivity between the EU, the world's largest single market, and Asean, which is slated to become the fourth-largest economic bloc in the world by 2030.

Read more: EU-Singapore free trade agreement comes into force, Economy News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Airline Industry: EasyJet plans to offset carbon on all flights

European budget airline easyJet says it will become the first major carrier to operate net-zero carbon flights, offsetting carbon emissions from the fuel used on every flight.

Read more at: 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/easyjet-net-zero-carbon-1.5255977

Britain: Johnson drops corporate tax cut plan in bid to woo voters

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was putting on hold further cuts in corporation tax and told voters he would use the money for spending on health and other priorities.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-corporationtax/johnson-drops-corporate-tax-cut-plan-in-bid-to-woo-voters-idUKKBN1XS1AZ

Bank of England considered bigger increase to banks' risk buffer last week

The Bank of England considered raising banks' capital requirements lastweek by more than it had previously signalled to tackle risks to the financial system including those from Brexit, the BoE said on Tuesday.

Read more at: Bank of England considered bigger increase to banks' risk buffer last week - World - Chinadaily.com.cn

Aircraft Industry: China and Russia want the CRAIC CR929 aircraft to challenge Airbus and Boeing - By David Reid

State-owned companies in Russia and China have been working together on a wide-body jet program since 2014 and was originally planned to enter the market by 2025.

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) are building the CR929, a long-range, 250-320-seat, wide-body plane powered by two engines. The joint venture, headquartered in Shanghai, operates under the name CRAIC.

Read more at: China and Russia want the CRAIC CR929 aircraft to challenge Airbus and Boeing

Italy: Venice flooded again 3 days after near-record high tide

Exceptionally high tidal waters returned to Venice on Friday, prompting the mayor to close the iconic St. Mark's Square and call for donations to repair the Italian lagoon city just three days after it experienced its worst flooding in 50 years.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venice-flood-tide-st-mark-s-square-1.5360583

The US economy: America’s yield curve is no longer inverted - Inverse psychology

Read more at:
America’s yield curve is no longer inverted - Inverse psychology

Britain: Brexit impasse takes its toll on British business investment

As uncertainty over Brexit spills into its fourth year, Swiftool Precision Engineering has taken a tough investment decision: it will press ahead with a plan to spend 250,000 pounds ($323,000) on a 3D printer but a new workshop roof will have to wait.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-investment/brexit-impasse-takes-its-toll-on-british-business-investment-idUKKBN1XH0KX

Iran-Oil Reserves: Iran says it has discovered a massive new oil field with 50B barrels

Iran has discovered a new oil field in the country's south with over 50 billion barrels of crude oil, its president said Sunday, a find that could boost the country's proven reserves by a third as it struggles to sell energy abroad over U.S. sanctions.

The announcement by Hassan Rouhani comes as Iran faces crushing American sanctions after the U.S. pulled out of its nuclear deal with world powers last year.

Rouhani made the announcement Sunday in a speech in the desert city of Yazd. He said the field was located in Iran's southern Khuzestan province, home to its crucial oil industry.

Read more at: Iran says it has discovered a massive new oil field with 50B barrels | CBC News

China-US rivalry on brink of becoming a ‘financial war’, former minister says

The growing rivalry between China and the United States is at risk of becoming a “financial war”, a former Chinese finance minister said on Saturday.

Speaking at an industry forum in Beijing, Lou Jiwei, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, said that despiten the compromises the two countries were trying to reach on trade, the dispute was likely to roll over into other areas.

“The next step in the frictions between China and the United States is a bfinancial war,” he said. “It is characterised by the use of long-arm jurisdiction, by various excuses to block specific enterprises, such as the bans on ZTE and Huawei.”

Read more at: China-US rivalry on brink of becoming a ‘financial war’, former minister says | South China Morning Post

The Netherlands: Dutch gov't supports EU on new air travel tax

The Netherlands and eight other European countries are calling on the European Union to implement a tax on air travel. The nine countries' governments signed a manifesto calling on the European Commission to come up with a proposal on this front, which will be handed to European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, NU.nl reports.

In addition to the Netherlands, the manifesto is signed by Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Demark, Sweden and Bulgaria.

Read more at:
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/11/dutch-spearhead-nine-country-efforts-for-a-european-tax-on-flying/

France's privatisation push with sale of national lottery stake

The French government has launched its biggest wave of privatisations in more than a decade, kicking off the process with the sale of the majority of its stake in the national lottery monopoly.

Read more at:
https://www.france24.com/en/20191107-france-s-privatisation-push-with-sale-of-national-lottery-stake

Britain - Elections : Labour's Corbyn brands PM Johnson's Brexit plans Thatcherism on steroids

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday of seeking to hijack Brexit to unleash a Thatcherite bonfire of regulation that would usher in what he cast as a much harsher brand of American-style capitalism.

Note EU- Digest : Corbyn hit the nail on the head by the way he described "tricky Boris Johnson"

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-corbyn/labours-corbyn-brands-pm-johnsons-brexit-plans-thatcherism-on-steroids-idUKKBN1XE2AS

France: Trump trade war: Macron pushes for EU deals in China

A French presidential adviser said it's time for China to prove its openness to trade with "progress on the EU-China deals." European businesses have long complained of restricted access to China's market.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/trump-trade-war-macron-pushes-for-eu-deals-in-china/a-51101055

Thailand: ASEAN summit: Asia trade bloc deal 'expected' in Feb 2020

Hopes of signing the world's largest free trade pact at a regional summit in Bangkok have been thrown into doubt after objections from India.

China, hurt by its trade war with the US, is keen to see the deal finalized.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/asean-summit-asia-trade-bloc-deal-expected-in-feb-2020/a-51097080

Auto Industry: Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot expected to sign binding merger deal as soon as early-December: source

Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA aim to sign a final merger agreement as early as the beginning of next month, a source familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiat-chrysler-m-a-psa-timing/fiat-chrysler-and-peugeot-expected-to-sign-binding-merger-deal-as-soon-as-early-december-source-idUKKBN1XC0A0

USA: Trump math: Here’s how the president arrived at a ‘303,000’ jobs number when the government reported 128,000 new jobs

 Markets and economists got an “October surprise” Friday when the government reported a better-than-expected jobs figure — but in a tweet that turned heads,...

 Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-math-heres-how-the-president-arrived-at-a-303000-jobs-number-when-the-government-reported-128000-new-jobs-2019-11-01