Nike is taking a tech-driven approach as it focuses on growing direct retail sales and lessening its dependence on other retailers. The newest Nike stores integrate consumer facing apps that also inform management's efforts to stock shelves with in-demand items.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says that an agreement between the House and the Trump administration on the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is imminent and that she hopes the House approves the trade deal this year. Discussions with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are "in a good place" regarding drug pricing, labor rights, environmental protection and enforcement, Pelosi says.

The European Investment Bank will stop loaning to fossil fuel projects at the end of 2021 to fight climate change. "We will launch the most ambitious climate investment strategy of any public financial institution anywhere," President Werner Hoyer says.

The European Commission is seeking legal action against the UK for breaching its EU Treaty obligations by failing to nominate a representative to the new commission that is to be formally seated on Dec. 1. The British government responded that "pre-election guidance states the UK should not normally make nominations for international appointments during this period."

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is optimistic the EU can reach an in-principle agreement on a banking union this year. "The time of the new presidency and the new commission of the European Union is the time to get all the necessary agreements and to start with the work on that question," Scholz says.

The European economy has dodged a recession but remains in below-average growth, European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos says. De Guindos urges governments to step up fiscal measures to support growth.

The main Spanish stock index has fallen 2.3% this week as investors worry about the possible impact of a Socialist-Podemos coalition government on the nation's finances and the banking sector. "Podemos is a radical left party that's not well known by investors, and that has triggered fears about what ... a coalition government with the Socialists would do in terms of economic policies [and] public spending," Natixis economist Jesus Castillo says.

Alibaba will proceed with a secondary listing worth $13 billion in Hong Kong, despite political unrest in the city. The stock offering could generate more than $13 billion if overallocation options are exercised.

Firms acknowledge the EU's revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive has improved transparency and has benefited investors, but they say the industry has experienced negative consequences. MiFID II has caused a pendulum swing to asset users from providers, but "the pendulum should swing back towards the centre following increased reviews and regulatory adjustments", says Douglas Aronstein, head of North American execution sales at Kepler Cheuvreux.

The People's Bank of China has responded to tightening liquidity in the interbank market by injecting 200 billion yuan through a medium-term lending facility. This is the central bank's second injection this month.