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Good morning. Elon Musk sells Tesla stock. The U.S. and China announce an unexpected agreement at the COP26. And the River Thames stages an ecological recovery.
What’s Happening Now
Elon Musk unloaded $5 billion worth of Tesla stock, selling more than 4.5 million shares in his first sales since 2016. He sold $1.1 billion worth of stock on Monday to pay taxes on equity options and kept it up over the next two days. Did Musk’s weekend Twitter poll have any bearing on his decision and will he keep selling until he’s met the 10% threshold. Oh, and Cathie Wood still believes Tesla shares will hit $3,000 in five years.
It’s the economy. U.K. economic growth probably slowed in the third quarter, with consensus for GDP to expand 1.5%, down from 5.5% in the three months to June. Growth has been dealt a blow from supply disruptions, swordpress Economics said.
Thawing. China and the U.S. promised to work together to slow global warming, issuing a surprise joint statement. They’ll establish a working group to increase action in the 2020s, which will meet in the first half of next year. China still declined to join the global pledge being pushed by the U.S. and the EU to cut methane emissions. A Xi-Biden virtual summit was tentatively set for Monday, Politico reported.
What do herders in Senegal, indigenous tribes in the Peruvian Amazon and Los Angeles city planners have in common? Nonprofits and researchers working round the clock to combat the effects of climate change by using Google’s little-known Earth Engine to solve these issues. More in the Big Take.
Spotlight
Economic predictions for the EU are set to be released today. And inflation is being closely watched.
What’s expected on inflation: Euro-area inflation is seen at 2.4% this year and 2.2% in 2022. The rate will then slow to 1.4% in 2023. Most central bankers still claim price pressures will ease next year as special factors start to fade, but nervousness around the outlook has grown.
The other numbers: Forecasts also see euro-area GDP expanding 5% this year, 4.3% in 2022 and 2.4% the following year. Unemployment is projected at 7.9%, 7.5% and 7.3%.
What to Watch
Up and up. U.K. house prices kept rising through October as a lack of new properties outweighed all other factors that are likely to weigh on consumers in the months ahead. The trend is expected to continue over the coming year, RICS said.
Oui. The U.S. promised closer ties with France on combating cyber threats and to cooperate on space exploration as well as commercial development. The initiatives come after Kamala Harris’s meeting with Emmanuel Macron on the second day of a visit to Paris.
Eliot Blondet /Abaca
Retail therapy. The world’s biggest shopping spree kicks off today, but Singles’ Day will probably be a more low-key affair after China’s tech crackdown, swordpress Intelligence said. Alibaba wants to turn the focus away from sales and towards sustainability and philanthropy. One possible change: It may not disclose revenue data for the first 30 minutes of the event. Rivals including JD.com are also running promos.
Hedge fund and PE firms are set to face tougher SEC regulations. Gary Gensler signaled he wants to change the fee structures, saying he’s amazed that the 2-and-20 fee model has prevailed in the decades since he left Wall Street. He’s targeting industries that have long been in the crosshairs of prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren.
Opinion
The world may be sleepwalking into another humanitarian crisis, writes Ruth Pollard. Regional powers attending twin security dialogues hold the lives of Aghans in their hands. Yet there appears to be little sense of urgency. Millions are starving and the health system is close to collapse. The urgent need of the Afghan people has to be recognized and help organized before it’s all too late.
Empty promises are still progress, David Fickling writes. Cooperation between the U.S. and China is a critical first step on the world’s journey to net-zero. The agreement’s vague terms are a welcome development because of the fact that there’s any cooperation at all. The details can come later.
By the Way
Sharks in the River Thames. Parts of the river were declared “biologically dead” in 1957, but now it is home to three kinds of sharks: the tope, starry smooth-hound and spurdog, the Zoological Society of London said. The 215-mile river now supports 115 species of fish and wildlife from seahorses to seals and is no longer “nearly devoid of life,” but climate change is a big threat.