REUTERS TANKAN showed confidence among Japan’s large manufacturers rose to 22 in October from 21 in September, the highest since December 2021, driven by strong semiconductor demand. A precision-machinery manager said semiconductor-related orders have run about 1.5x normal over the past four months; another machinery firm reported strong orders and shipments to the chip sector. The non-manufacturing index fell to 23 from 29, the weakest since November 2024, as rising costs and inflation erode ho

Turkey's central bank governor said domestic demand is slowing markedly.

Von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg the EU plans to appoint a single market operator to coordinate joint energy purchases and to elevate the post‑Russia‑Ukraine gas joint‑procurement mechanism to a “next stage,” extending it beyond gas to other energy products. She said the move comes as the EU faces a second round of energy price shocks in less than five years. The current mechanism aggregates EU gas demand and matches it with potential suppliers to lower prices and reduce reliance on Russian supply, but its success in closing final deals is disputed and many large buyers still prefer bilateral contracts. The Commission intends to shift from simple supply‑demand matching to demand aggregation under a designated market operator and called for investment to strengthen resilience.