Good Morning

North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un has called on his military to focus fully on preparations for war, describing the Korean peninsula as the “world's biggest trouble spot”. He accuses the USA and South Korea of having brought tensions in the region to an all-time high. At the same time, North Korea is supporting Russia in the Ukraine war with heavy weapons such as artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers as well as over 10,000 soldiers, thousands of whom are already deployed. These developments follow a recently ratified defense agreement between North Korea and Russia, which provides for increased military cooperation.

Russia is warning of an escalation in the war in Ukraine after US media reported that the USA is allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles against targets on Russian territory. Leonid Sluzki, Chairman of the Russian Foreign Policy Committee, emphasizes that such attacks deep inside Russian territory could lead to a major escalation. He criticizes US President Biden and calls him a “Bloody Joe” who could further fuel the war. Russia has previously warned of the consequences of such an approach. In Ukraine, Russia has recently carried out attacks on the energy infrastructure, leading to nationwide power cuts. The country is also preparing to shut down its nuclear power plants as a safety measure. There have been renewed missile alerts in Kiev and other regions, and the attack on Sumy claimed several lives, including children. On the other hand, there were drone alerts in Russia, with several drones being shot down near Moscow without causing major damage.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on EU member states to allow Ukraine to use weapons for attacks inside Russia. 

Donald Trump has appointed Brendan Carr as chairman of the FCC. Carr, a critic of Big Tech and Biden's telecoms policy, wants to strengthen freedom of speech and reduce regulation. He rejects net neutrality, calls for tougher measures against China and criticizes subsidy programmes such as for Starlink. Democrats accuse him of threatening private companies.

In Rio, the G20 reached an agreement on climate financing that mentions voluntary contributions from rich emerging economies such as China, but without any legal obligation. UN chief Guterres called for more climate protection from the G20, which accounts for 80% of emissions. The agreement creates a basis for the COP30 in Brazil, but remains threatened by Donald Trump's imminent withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and cuts in US climate policy. Developing countries are insisting on more financial support from industrialized countries in order to achieve more ambitious climate targets.

Mohammad Afif, the media chief of Lebanese Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. The attack hit a building in the central district of Ras al-Nabaa, where Baath Party offices were located. Hezbollah confirmed Afif's death. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, one other person died and three were injured. Israel carried out the attack as part of its escalation against Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets at Israeli military targets for over a year. In total, almost 4,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon during this period.

Foxconn has revised its recruitment practices for iPhone assembly workers in India and now requires that job advertisements do not include details of age, gender, marital status or the company name. This follows a Reuters report which revealed that married women were systematically excluded. New ads will focus on working conditions and salaries, without discriminatory criteria. The changes are under scrutiny as to whether they promote real equality or are merely a response to media and political criticism. Indian authorities continue to investigate past practices. Apple's focus on India as a manufacturing base underlines the importance of these developments.

Kühne: Lost ~€500 million with Benko: Billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne has given an interview to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in which he also says how much it cost him to be close to Benko: half a billion. “He has me wrapped around his finger,” admits Kühne. (FAZ)

ByteDance: Valued internally at $300 billion: TikTok's parent company reportedly doesn't want to go public - but is sending signals that could prepare for an IPO. Among other things: Is the company assuming a valuation around the $300 billion mark, according to insiders, as reported by Handelsblatt. (HB)

Trump: Appoints oil boss Chris Wright as energy secretary: With Chris Wright, previously CEO of Liberty Energy, Donald Trump has earmarked an oil specialist for the office of energy secretary. The Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at Wright - and finds a climate skeptic who is primarily pursuing private interests. (WSJ)

•  Hungary: China's #1 partner in the EU What happened: ~25% of Chinese investment in Europe since 2022 has gone to a single country - Hungary.
• Record gap: European equities are falling behind compared to US markets (MM)
• Friedrich von Metzler: Private bank patriarch dies at 81 (NTV)
• Tesla: Celebrates its fifth birthday in Grünheide (TGS)
• Cavalry Ventures: VC comes under financial pressure (MM)
• Lilium: Has probably found new investors (SZ)
• World US PPI: Inflation rate rises by 2.4% year-on-year (CNBC)
• UK GDP: Grows by 0.1% in Q3 (CNBC)
• Japan GDP: Grows by 0.9% - ending two quarters of year-on-year declines (BBG)
• Northvolt: Battling insolvency this week (FT)
• Paul vs. Tyson: 60 million watched the boxing match on Netflix stream (WSJ)