France Calms as Security Tightens; Zelensky Heads to Oslo Amid U.S. Push for Concessions

Violence in France eased after authorities tightened security measures across major cities, reducing the scale of street clashes that rocked the country earlier this month. Government officials said stepped-up policing and targeted restrictions helped bring demonstrations under control, though the political fallout and public anger over the cost-of-living crisis persist.

In geopolitics, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is travelling to Oslo for talks that could shape the next phase of negotiations with Russia. U.S. officials are pressing Kyiv to consider concessions as part of efforts to broker a deal, according to delegates familiar with the matter, setting up sensitive diplomacy that will test Kyiv’s negotiating bandwidth and Western unity.

Back in North America, Alberta’s referendum on separation decisively failed, handing a political victory to Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney. With about 1.2 million votes tallied, 76% backed remaining part of Canada, quelling secessionist momentum in the oil-rich province and removing a near-term constitutional headache for Ottawa.

Corporate reporting is busy this week, with 3M, General Motors, Capital One, Netflix and SpaceX all scheduled to release results or updates, giving investors a fresh batch of earnings and operational data to pore over amid a jittery macro backdrop.

At the APEC meeting of finance ministers in Hong Kong, China’s finance chief Lan Fo’an called for enhanced global cooperation to manage economic imbalances and adjust to shifting policy settings, underscoring Beijing’s push for multilateral solutions as growth patterns reconfigure worldwide.

Sentiment in Germany cooled: the ZEW expectations index fell to 28.1 in October from 34.7 in September, missing the median forecast of 30 and marking the first decline since April. Analysts said the drop highlights the uneven and bumpy nature of the recovery in Europe’s largest economy.

Markets turned cautious. European equities fell for a second day, sliding about 0.8%, while shares in Japan and Hong Kong dropped roughly 1.4% and mainland China declined about 0.5%. U.S. futures pointed to modest losses at the open. Commodity markets were firmer—Brent crude climbed another 1.5% to about $111 a barrel—adding a potential inflationary headwind for policymakers already navigating fragile growth and political uncertainty.