10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open

DINA SPECTOR

 NOV. 11, 2014

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba

Good morning! Here’s what you need to know:

Alibaba Posts Record Sales On Singles Day. On the world’s largest online shopping day of the year, China’s Alibaba shattered last year’s full-day sales of $5.75 billion, pulling in $5.8 billion by the afternoon. 

Aldi Is Hiring. German discount supermarket Aldi said it will create 35,000 news jobs in the UK by opening 1,000 new stores over the next 8 years. Aldi, along with other price-cut retailers in Britain, have been taking market share from the “big four” supermarkets, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s. 

GoPro Is Selling More Shares. Five months after its $491 million IPO, American camera maker GoPro is selling up to $800 million of stock, according to an SEC filing on Monday. In an email to employees, CEO Nick Woodman said: “I plan to sell a portion of my holdings in GoPro, but no one should misunderstand my commitment to the company or our vision.”

Asia’s In The Green. Japan’s Nikkei closed up 2.05% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index is up 0.25%. “The Nikkei stock average rising to a 7-year high as speculators snapped up futures and call options as they wagered that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may postpone a planned sales tax increase,” Reuters writes. 

The US And China Reach A Deal. In breakthrough negotiations, the Obama administration said it had achieved a deal with China to eliminate tariffs on a range of technology products. “With trade in tech goods surpassing $4 trillion annually, the commercial significance of these negotiations is obvious,” Myron Brilliant, the head of international affairs of the United States Chamber of Commerce, told The New York Times. 

Mondelez Is Expanding. Mondelez International, the maker of Nabisco biscuits and Cadbury chocolate, plans to pay $370 million for an 80% stake in Kinh Do, a Vietnamese snack business. “Our significant investment in Kinh Do and Vietnam is a perfect fit for our growth strategy in Asia Pacific, strengthening our core snacking categories in a high-growth dynamic market,” Mondelez executive Tim Cofer said in a statement.  

Unilever Sues Egg-Free Mayo Maker. Unilever, the maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is suing a startup that makes eggless mayo for false advertising and fraud. In the lawsuit, Unilever claims that Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo is hurting sales of its own sandwich spread products. 

McDonald’s Sales Fell Last Month. Worldwide sales at the fast-food giant dropped 0.5% in October, which is better than the 2.2% decline that economists expected. 

A Divorce Ruling Makes History. The CEO of Continental Resources, Harold Hamm, has been ordered to pay his ex-wife $999.5 million in a divorce ruling. The payout could make Sue Ann Hamm one of the 100 wealthiest women in America. 

Samsung Has Its Eyes On Vietnam. The electronics maker plans to invest $3 billion (£1.8 billion) to build a second smartphone plant in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi. “Vietnam is in a unique position,” Lam Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City-based country director at International Data Corp. told Bloomberg. “You have a motivated workforce and in terms of labour costs, they are cheaper than China, cheaper than Thailand.”