1. Aircraft deals: Airbus has signed a deal to sell 430 jetliners to Indigo Partners, one of the largest orders in the history of commercial aviation.
The private equity buyer, which has set up ultra-low cost airlines around the world, made the massive commitment for the single-aisle A320neo family airliners at the Dubai Air Show.
The jets will be spread out across Frontier Airlines in the U.S., Mexico’s Volaris, Wizz Air of Hungary and newcomer JetSmart of Chile.
Airbus shares jumped 3.3% in Paris.
Rival manufacturer Boeing quickly struck back, announcing an order from FlyDubai for 737 MAX airplanes with a list price value of $27 billion.
The deal includes a commitment by the low-cost airline to buy 175 planes, with options on a further 50.
2. Markets in the red: Global markets slumped on Wednesday, and U.S. stock futures were pointing to a negative open.
U.S. crude futures were trading 1% lower.
The CNNMoney Fear & Greed Index, which looks at volatility and six other key market barometers, has moved from greed to neutral. The next stop could be fear.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.1% lower on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% and the Nasdaq shed 0.3%.
3. Japan’s winning streak: Japan’s economy grew 1.4% in the third quarter thanks to strong employment, solid domestic consumption and export growth.
The country has now posted seven straight quarters of expansion, its longest period of uninterrupted growth since 2001.
The Japanese yen strengthened against major currencies.
It’s not all good news: Economists warn the world’s third biggest economy might start running into capacity constraints. Japan’s growth story has also been overshadowed by a series of corporate scandals and low wage growth for workers.
4. Earnings and economics: Target plans to release earnings before the opening bell, while Cisco Systems, Stein Mart and L Brands will follow after the close.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its October inflation report at 8:30 a.m. ET. The latest data on retail sales will be released at the same time.
The weekly U.S. crude inventories report will follow at 10:30 a.m.
The U.K.’s unemployment rate was just 4.3% in the three months to September. But prices are rising faster than wages as the country negotiates its departure from the European Union.
5. Coming this week:
Wednesday — Target, Cisco, L Brands earnings; U.S. retail sales for October; U.K. unemployment
Thursday — Best Buy, Walmart, Gap, Viacom earnings
Friday — Abercrombie & Fitch earnings