Japan’s Nikkei Drops as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data 
Europe Confronts Rising Competitive Pressure as China Accelerates Export-Led Growth 
RBI Cuts Repo Rate to 5.25% as Inflation Cools and Growth Outlook Strengthens 
Germany’s Economic Recovery Slows as Trade Tensions and Rising Costs Weigh on Growth 
Dollar Slides to Five-Week Low as Asian Stocks Struggle and Markets Bet on Fed Rate Cut 
Asian Currencies Edge Higher as Markets Look to Fed Rate Cut; Rupee Steadies Near Record Lows 
Gold Prices Steady as Markets Await Key U.S. Data and Expected Fed Rate Cut 
Asian Markets Mixed as Fed Rate Cut Bets Grow and Japan’s Nikkei Leads Gains 
U.S. Futures Steady as Rate-Cut Bets Rise on Soft Labor Data 
Asian Currencies Steady as Rupee Hits Record Low Amid Fed Rate Cut Bets 
Australia’s Economic Growth Slows in Q3 Despite Strong Investment Activity 
Citi Sets Bullish 2026 Target for STOXX 600 as Fiscal Support and Monetary Easing Boost Outlook 
China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
Gold Prices Edge Higher as Markets Await Key U.S. PCE Inflation Data 
Spain’s Industrial Output Records Steady Growth in October Amid Revised September Figures 
China’s Services Sector Posts Slowest Growth in Five Months as Demand Softens 
Spain is suffering the notches of a painful job market, unable to cater to the needs of the long-term unemployed and the youth. The Spanish employment has lost grip and flexibility over its long-hauling job market.
"Although it is still too early to fully evaluate the impact of these reforms, they already seem to have had direct effects on wages and employment," BNP Paribas said in a research report.
Moreover, the job market reforms of 2012 aimed at giving Spanish companies greater internal flexibility and to restore their competitiveness. They were also directed at reducing the duality of the job market.
At the height of this crisis, companies preferred to eliminate jobs rather than reduce wages or the number of hours worked. Hoping to limit the economic slowdown’s impact on employment, in 2012 Spain began promoting firm-level collective bargaining agreements (basic wage, supplements and overtime pay, distribution of working hours) to make sure that company specifics were better taken into account.
"More alarmed, households are more likely to increase their precautionary savings, to the detriment of consumer spending," BNP Paribas commented in the report.
