North America:

  • Australia has enacted a law prohibiting social media use for children under 16, facing both resistance from tech giants and potential implementation challenges on platforms like Facebook and TikTok.
  • Alphabet Inc. Canada's Competition Bureau and India's antitrust regulator are investigating Google for alleged anti-competitive practices in online advertising and Play Store policies, respectively.
  • Citigroup is advancing its turnaround strategy by planning to spin off its Mexican consumer bank Banamex, aiming for an IPO in 2025, while Nalka Invest is also considering an IPO for its majority-owned Asker Healthcare Group.
  • Amazon is testing quantum technologies in Germany, facing employee strikes in India over wages and working conditions, and investing over SG$2 billion in its Singapore operations.
  • Microsoft is under investigation for potential antitrust violations in its cloud computing, software licensing, cybersecurity, and AI products by the US Federal Trade Commission, while Italy's data protection authority has warned against sharing personal data with OpenAI, highlighting concerns over EU rule breaches.
  • Woodside Energy Group Ltd is seeking to add partners to its Louisiana LNG project.
  • Flex LNG Ltd has secured a 15-year charter contract for its Flex Constellation liquefied natural gas carrier.
  • Starbucks has opened a new cafe near the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea, while the European Commission concluded its tax investigations into the company, along with Fiat and
  • Amazon, finding no selective tax advantages.
  • MINISO Group Holding reported an increase in both attributable profit and revenue for the third quarter.

Europe and Asia:

  • Volkswagen is facing multiple challenges including potential strikes by German workers over labor disputes, accusations of tax evasion in India, and threats of tariffs on European auto imports by the US, alongside launching a campaign to promote electromobility amidst a slow electric vehicle market.
  • HSBC is shutting down most of its credit card operations in China due to difficulties in expanding and profitability, despite buying back shares and continuing other global operations.
  • TI Fluid Systems, a British automotive company, has accepted a GBP1.04 billion all-cash takeover bid from Canadian firm ABC Technologies.
  • MTU Aero Engines, a German aircraft engine manufacturer, anticipates revenue growth to 8.3-8.5 billion euros in 2025, driven by its commercial aircraft unit, marking a 1 billion euro increase from its 2024 targets.
  • Pluxee, a French company formerly part of Sodexo, has acquired 100% of Benefício Fácil, a Brazilian provider of employee mobility and public transportation solutions.
  • Atlas Copco has acquired JetCan Engineering's compressor business in Malaysia, expanding its market presence in the region.
  • AB Indutrade, a Swedish industrial group, has agreed to acquire Hansa Engineering, a technical trading company, for 60 million SEK to bolster its flow technology market presence in Sweden and Finland.
  • The CEO of Delivery Hero suggests that the IPO of its subsidiary Talabat, priced at the top end of the range, may indicate that Delivery Hero itself is undervalued.
  • AB Skanska is investing 530 million SEK in the Mandelblomman residential project in Täby, Sweden, while Tore Browaldhs stiftelse has purchased Skanska shares worth 54 million kronor.
  • Meituan reported a significant increase in Q3 profit, tripling to 12.9 billion yuan from 3.59 billion yuan a year earlier, and a 22.4% rise in revenue to 93.6 billion yuan, surpassing expectations despite a competitive market and a slowing Chinese economy.
  • Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc Financial stocks, including the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, rose in pre-market trading on Friday, with Mitsubishi UFJ announcing a $664 million acquisition of WealthNavi.
  • Toyota Motor is interested in India's increased electric vehicle incentives despite reporting a decline in global production in October.
  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced the suspension and removal of its 1 billion euro notes due in 2029 from quotation this Friday, alongside reporting a 50% reduction in customer scam losses due to new AI-implemented safety features.
  • Vinci Airports has completed modernization projects at seven airports in Brazil, enhancing security, accessibility, and efficiency.
  • Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI have appointed new leadership, with the former naming a new co-CEO and heads for its memory and foundry businesses, and the latter appointing Joo Sun Choi as its new president and CEO.
  • DBS Group has launched a share repurchase program and DBS Bank has filed for a Singapore listing of $301.6 million in bonds due in 2025.
  • Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited OCBC has allocated 1,312 treasury shares for its employee share schemes.
  • Infosys has voluntarily liquidated its subsidiary Skava Systems after receiving an order from the National Company Law Tribunal in Chennai, India.
  • Macquarie Asset Management is set to acquire London-based waste management company Renewi for 8.70 pounds sterling per share in a preliminary cash agreement.