Japan’s economy shrank by 2.1% on an annualised basis in the third quarter, or by 0.5% on the previous quarter, amid weak household consumption and business spending. The contraction suggests that inflation, running at an annual rate of 3%, which is high by Japanese standards, is starting to cut into domestic demand. That complicates the central bank’s path to ending its massive monetary stimulus programme and policy of negative interest rates, which markets expect it to start undoing in the coming months.

Markets were cheered by news that America’s annual inflation rate dipped to 3.2% in October, the first decline in four months. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, also slowed, to 4%. In Britain annual inflation plunged from 6.7% in September to 4.6% in October, the lowest rate in two years. After a dismal few months, America’s main stockmarkets have roared back in November, as investors bet that lower inflation makes it more likely that central banks have finished raising interest rates.

Nvidia unveiled its latest superchip for generative artificial intelligence, the H200. Delivering 141 gigabytes of memory at 4.8 terabytes per second, it has nearly double the capacity of its predecessor chip. The company expects revenue this quarter to increase by 170%, year on year. Its share price is up by 240% since the start of January.

Novo Nordisk’s stock surged after the company released the full results from a study showing that its weight-loss drug, Wegovy, reduces the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying by 20% in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

The mining industry saw its biggest deal in years, when a consortium led by Glencore agreed to pay $9bn for the steelmaking coal business of Teck Resources. The Swiss commodities company is taking a 77% stake, with Nippon Steel of Japan and POSCO of South Korea owning the rest. Glencore will eventually merge its existing coal business with its new assets and spin off the new entity on the stockmarket. Prices for the coking coal used in steelmaking have risen sharply this year.

Salad days

A private-equity group took a controlling stake in Joe & the Juice, a fast-growing purveyor of sandwiches, organic juices and health shakes to the hipster crowd. The firm started in Denmark in 2002 and now has 360 stores around the world in the usual hipster hotspots, such as London, New York, San Francisco and Stockholm.

Foxconn warned that its revenues will fall slightly in 2023, even though it managed to post a surprise 11% rise in net profit in the latest quarter, year on year. The electronics contract manufacturer gets a big chunk of its income from Apple and sales of the new iPhone 15 have been lower than expected, especially in China.

The ratification of a pay deal between the United Auto Workers and Detroit’s carmakers hit a small bump in the road when workers at several General Motors’ factories rejected the new contract, though a majority at its biggest plant accepted it. Meanwhile Stellantis, Chrysler’s parent company, offered voluntary redundancies to half its non-unionised employees in America, because of “challenging market conditions”.

Continental said it would cut jobs as part of its cost-cutting drive. The German car-parts supplier, one of the world’s biggest, expects the number of job losses “to be in the mid-four-digit range”. Four years ago the company warned that tens of thousands of positions would be affected by the transition to electric vehicles.

Renault gave more details about the future of Ampere, its electric-vehicle division. The French carmaker is aiming to float Ampere on the stockmarket in the first half of 2024, and hopes green investors will back the IPO. It laid out ambitious targets for the business, targeting 30% average annual growth in revenues from this year to 2031.

The Jetsons age has arrived

The first-ever flight of an electric air taxi in New York took off from downtown Manhattan’s heliport. Joby Aviation, which is developing electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft for commercial passenger service, performed an exhibition flight. Its air taxis are designed to be much quieter than regular helicopters so as not to add to urban noise. Joby aims to have its service up and flying in 2025, when passengers will be able to book their trips by app.

In another novelty, Netflix live-streamed its first sporting event. The Netflix Cup paired Formula One racing drivers with PGA Tour professionals in a golf tournament. Carlos Sainz, a driver for Ferrari, and Justin Thomas, a two-time winner of the PGA championship, won the cup, which Mr Sainz dropped, breaking it into pieces. Netflix will pray that is not an omen for its foray into live broadcasts.