Good morning! Here are the major stories you need to know about before markets open in London and Paris. Switzerland's Referendum Sent The Gold Price Tumbling. On Sunday night, gold was down more than 4% to as low as $1,143 an ounce after voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected a measure that would have required the Swiss National Bank to increase its gold reserves from 8% to 20% of its holdings. Chinese Manufacturing Is Teetering. Chinese manufacturing disappointed again in November. The country's manufacturing PMI missed expectations coming in at 50.3, analysts expected 50.5. Any number under 50 indicates a contraction in the country's manufacturing sector. Manufacturing PMIs Are Coming. At 9 a.m. GMT, we'll get the manufacturing purchasing managers' index figures for November from the eurozone, an early indicator of how economies are performing. Japanese Capital Spending Jumped. Business investment rose 5.5 per cent in the third quarter, compared with the same period last year, despite the country officially falling into a recession during the three months to October. Strikes Just Pushed Germany's Biggest Airline To Cancel Half Its Flights. German flagship carrier Lufthansa said it had cancelled 1,350 flights, or 48 percent of scheduled services, for Monday and Tuesday as its pilots prepared to go on strike. Hong Kong's Protests Are Back. Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists scuffled with police on Sunday as they tried to encircle government headquarters, defying orders for protesters to retreat after more than two months of demonstrations. Chinese House Prices Slumped For The Seventh Month Running. China's housing prices fell on a monthly basis for the seventh straight month in November, a survey showed Sunday, with the market yet to feel the full impact of an interest rate cut. George Osborne Is Pledging A Pre-Election Health Funding Splurge. UK chancellor George Osborne announced a £2 billion increase in healthcare spending on Sunday, seeking to counter political attacks on his Conservative party's handling of the health service six months before an election. Asian Markets Were Mixed. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.75%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 2.13% currently, after protests erupted again. Germany's Finance Minister Says More Greek Assistance Discussions Are Coming. Eurozone finance ministers will discuss in early December conditions for providing Greece with credit when its current aid program expires, German Finance Minster Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday.Join the conversation about this story »
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