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European Union member states won't force global tech companies such as Google and Meta to identify and remove online child sexual abuse. Reuters says the position represents a victory for the companies and for anti-surveillance activists who had argued that draft online child protection rules threaten privacy, and is part of a wider pushback against regulation led by U.S. President Donald Trump. Online providers will be required to assess the risk of their services being used to disseminate child sexual abuse material and take preventative measures, but the European Council left enforcement up to national governments. EU member states will now have to thrash out details of the draft rules with EU lawmakers before the legislation can be passed. An EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse will be set up to help countries comply and provide assistance for victims.

 

Reuters

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A cooling issue at a CyrusOne data center caused a major outage at CME Group, halting trading in key futures and currency markets, including crude, Treasuries, and the S&P 500. The disruption froze pricing on benchmarks and CME's EBS foreign exchange platform, leaving brokers without live data. “It's just a pain,” said CMC’s Christopher Forbes. Some brokers pulled products or priced off internal data, exposing themselves to risk. CME, the world’s largest exchange operator, said it's working on a resolution, though no timeline was provided.

 

Reuters

UPS and FedEx are facing significant delivery challenges after their fleets of MD-11 freighter jets were grounded indefinitely following the deadly crash of an MD-11 in Kentucky. The incident, which resulted in 14 fatalities, has created a "real capacity crunch," according to Derek Lossing, founder of Cirrus Global Advisors. With the holiday shipping season approaching, both companies are adjusting their operations but may struggle to meet demand. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all MD-11s, and the future of these ageing aircraft remains uncertain as investigations continue into potential structural flaws.

 

The Independent UK

On Thanksgiving morning, a magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck near Susitna, Alaska, prompting concern among insurers and emergency agencies. The U.S. Geological Survey warned of potential aftershocks, with a 28% chance of significant tremors in the coming week. Although no major damage was reported, the quake highlighted the low uptake of earthquake insurance in the region, where many homeowners lack coverage. Mike West, a state seismologist, noted that Alaska's complex seismic environment poses ongoing risks for underwriters. Insurers say they will closely monitor aftershock activity as assessments continue.

 

Insurance Business Magazine America

U.S. economic activity was little changed in recent weeks, according to the Federal Reserve, although consumer spending declined, and employment was weaker in around half of its 12 districts. The central bank's Beige Book compilation of anecdotes from businesses in the weeks leading up to November 17th also noted that, on prices, tariffs were still a concern for businesses, especially those in manufacturing and retail, who reported widespread input cost pressures. Multiple firms reported tighter margins or financial strain related to tariffs, but some also said prices had declined due to reduced demand or delayed or reduced tariff rates. Consumer spending in several districts was hampered by the government shutdown, which hurt demand from lower-income households that depend on aid programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that were interrupted by the closure. The report also reinforced indications that spending was being carried by more affluent households, while lower-income consumers were feeling pinched.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.3% in September, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday, driven by higher food and energy costs, while core PPI, excluding these categories, posted its slowest annual rise since July 2024 at 2.6%. Final demand energy prices jumped 3.5% for the month, while food rose 1.1%. Of the energy increase, much of that was tied to an 11.8% surge in gasoline. On the services side, transportation and warehousing prices rose 0.8%, while airline passenger fees surged 4%.

 

Bloomberg

CNBC

Wall Street Journal

Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group has reported that 1.91m sets of personal information were compromised in the recent cyberattack that saw it suspend shipments to distributors and retailers, with 1.52m sets belonging to the company's customers. In a statement on its investigation into the ransomware attack, which the hacker group Qilin has claimed responsibility for, Asahi said that it has not confirmed any evidence of the data being released and that the impact of the attack is limited to systems managed in Japan. President and chief executive Atshushi Katsuki said the company plans to resume placing and taking orders through its system in early December, aiming to fully restore its logistics operations by February 2026. The company will take recurrence prevention measures such as tightening access restrictions and improving the accuracy of its cyberattack detection. 

 

BBC News

Nippon.com

Reuters

South China Morning Post

The world's central banks are wary of artificial intelligence amid concern that AI-driven behavior could "accelerate future crises," according to a survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. "AI helps us see more, but decisions must remain with people," one participant was quoted as saying in the report from a working group of 10 central banks from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia managing roughly $6.5 trillion. More than 60% of respondents said that AI tools are not yet supporting core operations. although most central banks are using AI mainly for basic work, such as summarizing data or scanning markets. "Most early applications centered on routine analytical tasks rather than risk management or portfolio construction," the report said.

 

Barron's

Reuters

Altice USA has sued creditors holding the bulk of its $26bn debt, accusing them of illegally colluding in an attempt to force the company into bankruptcy. The U.S. telecoms affiliate of Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi’s empire - now known as Optimum Communications following a rebranding earlier this month - brought the case in federal court in New York against lenders including Apollo, Ares and BlackRock, alleging that they worked together to freeze the company out of the U.S. credit market. “The cooperative is a classic illegal cartel,” the company said in the complaint. 

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Reuters

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has warned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against granting exemptions that would allow crypto firms to sell tokenised stocks without following standard securities laws. The SEC is exploring an “innovation exemption,” but WFE CEO Nandini Sukumar argued: “The SEC should avoid granting exemptions to firms attempting to bypass regulatory principles.” While supportive of innovation, the WFE stressed the need for consistent rules to preserve market integrity. Tokenised stocks, pegged to real equities, are seen by some as bypassing regulations. Stock exchanges say the current equity system is already highly efficient.

 

Reuters

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating Amazon after a delivery drone struck an overhead internet cable in Waco, Texas, on November 18th. Amazon said the MK30 drone hit the line post-delivery and executed a controlled landing, causing no injuries or major outages. Video shows the drone’s propeller getting tangled before its motors shut down. The National Transportation Safety Board will not investigate. The incident follows another October case involving Amazon drones hitting a crane. Amazon, which aims for 500m annual drone deliveries by 2030, recently expanded its drone program to include prescription medications in Texas.

 

Reuters

Ford Motor has maintained its 2025 EBIT forecast of $6bn–$6.5bn despite another fire at supplier Novelis' New York plant, which disrupted aluminum supply. Ford’s stock rose 4% following the announcement. The September blaze at Novelis caused Ford to halt F-150 Lightning production and affected gas-powered F-150 output. In October, Ford had trimmed its profit outlook, estimating a $2bn impact, partly offset by increased truck production in 2026. Novelis aims to resume operations by December, ahead of its earlier 2026 target. Both firms pledged continued updates on the situation.

 

Reuters

The Trump administration is negotiating a trade deal with Taiwan that aims to enhance U.S. semiconductor manufacturing through investment and workforce training, according to sources. Taiwanese companies, including TSMC, are expected to contribute capital and skilled workers to expand their U.S. operations. Currently, Taiwan's exports to the U.S. face a 20% tariff, which the companies hope to reduce as part of this agreement. The deal's specifics remain uncertain, but it could involve building science park infrastructure in the U.S. Taiwan's Premier Cho Jung-tai said that the two sides are at the stage of exchanging documents to finalize details. "Until announced by President Trump, reporting about potential trade deals is speculation," said White House spokesman Kush Desai. 

 

U.S. News

Top Chinese companies are training their artificial intelligence models overseas to access Nvidia’s chips and bypass U.S. efforts to prevent their development of the powerful technology, the Financial Times reports.

 

Financial Times

Poland plans to deploy drones to protect its rail network and power plants from sabotage following a railway line explosion this month that Prime Minister Donald Tusk blamed on Russia.

 

TVP World

Financial Times