10 things you need to know in markets today
We're getting a snapshot of Britain's job market today. Figures on average earnings growth and the unemployment rate for September are due at 9.30 a.m. GMT (4.30 a.m.), while changes in the unemployment benefit claimant count for October are due at the same time. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 5.4%, while earnings growth including bonuses is forecast to accelerate from 3% to 3.2%.
A dump of Chinese data overnight gives a mixed picture of the country's economy. Industrial production, urban fixed asset investment, and retail sales numbers followed a predictable pattern in October, with weakness in industrial data largely offset by strength in consumer spending.
Asian stock markets are pretty flat on the back of the mixed Chinese figures. Japan's Nikkei is up 0.10% at the time of writing (6.35 a.m. GMT/1.35 a.m. ET), Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 0.09%, and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.24%.
Portugal's centre-right government was ejected from office on Tuesday evening, only a month after the country's most recent parliamentary election. A vote of no confidence from the country's parliament sent Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho packing, with a left-wing coalition poised to take over.
The International Monetary Fund's new chief economist Maurice Obstfeld says he worries about a "nightmare scenario" in which various pressures conspire to weaken the economic bonds of Europe. In an interview with AFP, Obstfeld says: "There is a lot of political pressure coming from the extremes, which could undo a lot of the economic integration that has occurred."
Alibaba generated $5 billion (£3.3 billion) in sales in the first 90 minutes of Singles' Day, China's biggest online shopping day of the year. That's how much Americans spent online last year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
Drugmakers Pfizer and Allergan are considering putting Brent Saunders in charge of the company that would be created by their merger, Bloomberg News is reporting. Saunders is currently CEO of Allergan, which Pfizer is in talks to acquire. A deal, which could be the largest of 2015, may be reached by the end of the month.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says a US interest rate rise, expected in December, would boost the bank's revenue by $4.5 billion (£3 billion) for every 100 basis points it's increased by. In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, Moynihan also put his case for a rates rise, saying: "It's a strong economy. October is probably one of the strongest months this year relative to October of last year."
Molson Coors is nearing a deal to buy the rest of its US joint venture with SABMiller, MillerCoors, for more than $10 billion (£6.6 billion), according to the Wall Street Journal. An agreement to buy the 58% stake held by SABMiller is expected to be announced today. The deal will be contingent on the closure of the AB InBev-SABMiller merger.
UBS's chairman Axel Weber says Britain will get a "very favourable deal" if it leaves the EU, ensuring that the City of London is not undermined as a major financial centre. The Telegraph reports that Weber told an event on Tuesday: "If the UK were to leave the EU I think there would be two or three years of heightened uncertainty but pretty much the same rights."