United States

US Productivity rose a disappointing 3.1% in Q3 (missing expectations of a 3.3% rise). However, on a year-over-year basis, Q3 saw a second consecutive decline - the first two-quarter decline in US productivity since 1993. Unit labor cost growth slowed in Q3 to 3.00% (with QoQ growth tumbling from 6.2% in Q2 to just 0.7% in Q3).

Actually if one looks at the official table US productivity has notr risen YoY since Q4 2015 - (Q1 0.0%, Q2 -0.3%, Q3 -0.05%)

With last Friday's phone call between Donald Trump and Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen which broke decades of US protocol, still creating ripples among diplomatic circles and the political punditry, not to mention continue to fascinate the media which leads today with such speculative headlines as Wooed by Trump, Taiwan Trembles, China urges U.S. to block transit by Taiwan president, U.S.

• Trump heads back out on road for 'thank you' tour (AP)
• For Europe’s Unity, 2017 Will Be a Year of Reckoning (WSJ)
• Oil dips as OPEC, Russian output rises ahead of production cut (Reuters)
• The Pessimist's Guide to 2017 (BBG)
• Donald Trump’s Message Sparks Anger in China (WSJ)
• Brazil’s Reform Plan in Disarray After Senate Chief Removed (BBG)
• China urges U.S. to block transit by Taiwan president (Reuters)
• Wooed by Trump, Taiwan Trembles (WSJ)
• SoftBank’s Son Said to Plan Meeting With Trump in New York (BBG)

European and Asian markets rose, while U.S. index futures were little changed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average pushing for yet another record, as traders digested the Italian referendum news, await the ECB's Thursday announcement and reflect in a notably quieter overnight session.  Oil slipped from a 16-month high after 4 straight days of gains, as doubts emerged about how OPEC will implement the first supply curbs in eight years. European bonds gained with stocks.

The long arm of the United States military-industrial complex is arming and training both sides of the increasingly brutal Yemen conflict, according to WikiLeaks’ latest release. Promptly after the release of more than 500 documents from the U.S. embassy in Yemen, WikiLeaks explained why this particular leak matters. “The war in Yemen has produced 3.15 million internally displaced persons,” the statement said.