EUR/USD Euro / US Dollar

U.S. employment costs rose 0.8% in the third quarter, down from 0.9% in the prior quarter, InvestingLive reports. Wages rose 0.7%, while benefits increased 0.9%. Annual civilian compensation growth was 3.4%, with benefits growing faster than wages. Private-industry wages fell 0.6% after inflation over the year, showing that higher nominal pay did not preserve purchasing power.

Italian inflation accelerated to +5.4% in October from +4.2%, Istat’s preliminary estimates show. Prices rose +0.9% from September. Energy drove much of the acceleration, with regulated energy prices up +59.5% over the year. Goods inflation reached +7.5%, while services rose +2.9%. The harmonised measure climbed to +5.6% annually. The figures remain provisional.

Euro-area GDP grew 0.4% in the third quarter, above the 0.2% forecast but slower than the previous quarter’s 0.6%, InvestingLive reports. The expansion was uneven: Germany grew 0.2%, Italy stalled and France contracted 0.1%. Ireland’s 5.5% surge was driven by multinational-dominated industries. Justin Low cautions that the headline surprise masks a fragile growth picture as higher energy costs pressure the region.

Christine Lagarde will step down as European Central Bank president on 7 February 2027, the ECB announced on October 29. She informed the Governing Council and European Council President António Costa of her decision. The European Council will appoint her successor through the nomination process set out in Article 283 of the EU treaty. The announcement establishes the departure date while leaving the successor’s appointment for a later stage.

The Federal Open Market Committee maintained the federal funds target range at 3-3/4 to 4 percent on October 28 in a 10 – 2 vote. Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack dissented, preferring a 1/4 percentage point increase. The statement describes strong economic expansion, resilient domestic spending and little change in unemployment. Inflation remains elevated, and the Committee says additional information will help determine the policy stance needed to return inflation to its 2 percent goal.

InvestingLive reports that U.S. consumer confidence improved in October. The Present Situation Index reached 120.4, versus 111.8 previously, while expectations rose to 72.6 from 65.7. The prior headline reading was revised from 81.9 to 84.2. Conference Board economist Fergus McCormick linked the recovery to better business perceptions and easing gasoline prices, but said the longer downward trend persisted and consumers planned less spending on services and durable goods.

InvestingLive reports that September U.S. non-defense capital-goods orders excluding aircraft rose +0.5%, below +0.7% expected, following +1.6% previously. Orders excluding transportation increased +0.5% against +0.6% expected, after +0.3%. The report describes core capital-goods orders as a proxy for business equipment investment plans. It cautions that advance durable-goods figures are revised in the subsequent factory-orders report, with potentially significant changes in volatile categories.

InvestingLive reports that French consumer confidence fell to 80 in October, below 85 expected, with the prior reading revised from 86 to 85. It describes the level as the lowest since 2013. Households reported worsening personal finances and living standards, while unemployment fears increased. The future-price balance rose to -7 points. These are survey measures of household sentiment and expectations, rather than observed unemployment or inflation rates.

The ECB’s October lending survey reports tighter third-quarter credit standards for firms and consumer credit, while housing standards were unchanged. The net share reporting tighter business standards was 9%; the net balance reporting changes in business-loan demand was -6%. Higher interest rates were the main drag on demand. Banks expected further tightening in the fourth quarter and weaker housing and consumer borrowing, while several anticipated growing demand to finance AI infrastructure.