US-based employers announced 43,994 job cuts in October 2026, up 2% from 43,281 cuts in September, but down 71% from last year and the lowest for an October month since 2023. It is the eighth month this year in which cuts came in below the same month one year earlier. Food companies led all industries in the amount of cuts (9,677), followed by technology (5,576) and services (5,458). Through October, employers have announced 617,189 job cuts, down 44% year-on-year. It is the lowest year-to-date total through October since 2022, when 243,338 cuts were announced. The tech sector leads all industries with 171,501 cuts up 21% yoy. “This is a low-fire environment. Employers are holding on to the workers they have heading into the holidays, and the hiring they are announcing is largely short-term, seasonal work. Companies want the flexibility to meet holiday demand without adding permanent headcount,” said Andy Challenger, from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Eurozone producer prices rose by 2.5% month over month in September 2026, following an upwardly revised 2.0% increase in August. This marked the sharpest monthly rise since March, when the US-Israeli war with Iran began, as energy prices climbed 7.8%, accelerating from a 5.6% increase in the previous month. Among other components, prices of non-durable consumer goods increased at a faster pace (0.2% vs. 0.1%). In contrast, price growth moderated for intermediate goods (0.2% vs. 0.5%), durable consumer goods (0.3% vs. 0.4%) and capital goods (0.1% vs. 0.2%). On an annual basis, producer price inflation accelerated sharply to 11.1% in September, exceeding market expectations and reaching its highest level since February 2023, highlighting the renewed inflationary pressure stemming primarily from rising energy costs.

European stocks traded higher on Thursday, with the STOXX 50 gaining 0.3% and the STOXX 600 advancing 0.6%, with the latter reaching a fresh record high. The gains extended the strong rally seen in the previous session, when a Democratic sweep of the US Congress triggered a broad-based rebound in equity markets. Meanwhile, investors remained focused on the ongoing earnings season for further direction. Luxury, banking and consumer stocks led the gains, while energy, defense and technology shares underperformed, reflecting a broader global sell-off driven by renewed concerns over AI. HSBC rose 1.7%, SAP added 0.7%, Siemens climbed 1.2%, LVMH advanced 3.3%, Inditex gained 2.1% and Safran surged 3.6%. On the downside, ASML Holding fell 2.1%, while Shell and TotalEnergies declined 1.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Rheinmetall plunged more than 16% after lowering its full-year guidance. Deutsche Telekom also lost 1.4% after announcing a €2 billion share buyback that fell short of expectations.

Industrial production in France fell 0.5% month-on-month in September 2026, following a 0.4% decline in August, defying expectations of a 0.3% rebound. The decline was mainly driven by a 3.8% drop in extractive industries, energy and water, following a 2.8% decrease in August, largely reflecting lower electricity production. In contrast, manufacturing output rose 0.5%, accelerating from a 0.3% increase in the previous month. Within manufacturing, transport equipment output rebounded 2.7%, supported by a 7.5% increase in automobile production. Output of electrical, electronic and computer equipment also rose 2.6%, while agri-food production increased 1.0% and coking and refining output advanced 6.0%. On the other hand, production of other industrial products fell 0.7%. On a yearly basis, activity dropped 1.3%, the most since April 2025, and following a 0.2% gain in August. Over the third quarter, industrial output declined 0.6% from a year earlier.

Germany's factory orders rose 4.4% month-on-month in September 2026, recovering from a downwardly revised 10.1% slump in August but missing market forecasts for a 4.8% gain. It marked the fastest growth since March, driven largely by a 10.5% surge in automotive orders following weakness in the previous two months, partly due to production changeovers and factory shutdowns. Mechanical engineering orders also strengthened by 8.3%. In contrast, orders for aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles fell 10.4% after strong demand earlier this year. By category, orders increased across capital goods (5.3%), intermediate goods (0.5%) and consumer goods (14.4%). Domestic orders surged 6.6%, while foreign demand rose 2.8%, supported by gains in both the euro area (4.5%) and non-euro area markets (1.6%). Excluding large-scale contracts, orders climbed 5.1%. On a less volatile three-month basis, factory orders edged up 0.2% in Q3 from the previous quarter, or 0.1% excluding large orders.

The annual inflation rate in Sweden eased to 0.9% in October 2026 from 1.1% in September, which was the highest reading since February 2025, according to preliminary estimates. The latest result also came below market expectations of 1.2%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices were unchanged from September, missing forecasts for a 0.3% gain and following a 0.9% increase in the preceding period. Meanwhile, the CPI with a fixed interest rate (CPIF), the Riksbank’s target measure, rose by 1.1% year-on-year, slowing from a four-month high of 1.5% gain in the previous month, while its monthly reading remained flat. Core inflation, measured by CPIF excluding energy, eased more sharply to 0.1% from 0.5% in September, its lowest level in six months and falling short of estimates of 0.6%, while prices fell 0.2% month-on-month. The preliminary figures point to subdued price pressures ahead of the final CPI release scheduled for November 12.