Louis Vuitton company buys Tiffany & Co for $16.2bn

The company behind Louis Vuitton is buying US-based jeweler Tiffany & Co for $16.2 billion. LVMH clinched the deal by raising its initial offer of $120 per share to $135. Founded in New York in 1837, Tiffany is a globally-recognized name - thanks in part to the 1961 Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany's - but has faced stagnating sales and export struggles under a strong dollar. 

Owned by Europe's richest man, Bernard Arnault, LVMH is already the world's biggest luxury goods company with 150,000 employees across 4,500 outlets for 75 brands including Dom Pérignon, Moet & Chandon, Kenzo, Tag Heuer, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Bulgari, the latter bought in 2011 for $5.2bn. The Tiffany deal is LVMH's biggest acquisition. 

Mitsubishi to buy Dutch power firm Eneco for $4.52bn

Dutch energy company Eneco has agreed to be purchased by a consortium led by Japan's Mitsubishi Corp in a deal that values it at $4.52 billion. Mitsubishi, which will own 80 percent while partner Chubu takes 20 percent, plans to let Eneco continue its heavy investment in renewable energy. Eneco is currently owned by 44 cities; its board has backed the takeover but it must be approved next year by its municipal shareholders. 

Just Eat tells shareholders to reject Prosus takeover offer

UK-based food delivery app Just Eat has advised its shareholders to reject a takeover offer from Prosus, which is designed to usurp the agreed deal with Takeaway.com. Prosus, controlled by South African investment giant Naspers, tabled a higher bid of around $6.31 billion, but Just Eat's board prefers Dutch-based Takeaway's all-share bid, which would create the largest food delivery firm outside China. Offers expire on 11 December.

20,000 Finnair passengers hit by national strike

Finland's flag-carrier airline Finnair has had to cancel almost 300 flights during a nationwide strike showing solidarity with postal workers. Around 20,000 passengers will be affected by the industrial action on Monday, with some effects spilling into Tuesday. On Sunday, Finnair spokeswoman Paivyt Tallqvist said: "Our current estimate is that we could operate some 120 of our 377 flights scheduled for tomorrow."

Addressing a key issue in the long-running US/China trade talks, China has said it will get tough on violations of intellectual property rights. Team that with President Trump's comments towards the end of last week that a phase-one deal was "very close," and cautious optimism on global markets could set the tone for the week ahead.

"Although long on promise but short on deal, China's move appears to mollify one of the US's main reasons for initiating the trade war in the first place," said Jeffrey Halley, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA.

Cold turkey

This is the time of year when things tend to slow down and it really takes some juicy on-the-day headlines to jolt investors into action. Since the data calendar is light and the US break for Thanksgiving will mark a quiet second half of the week, don't expect much groovy action on financial markets.

"Geopolitical risks will be the biggest news in the market, with the US-China trade war the top priority, but Brexit and the Hong Kong protests are of considerable import," said IG market analyst Kyle Rodda.

Bets on Brexit

The UK's two main political parties have now published their manifestos ahead of the general election on 12th December. Opposition Labour promised a windfall tax on oil companies and renationalisation of some sectors, while the Conservatives launched a plan for more public spending and no further Brexit extensions. 

Think-tanks such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies can't quite work out how either party would fund their plans. "Business leaders will still want to see value for money from the Conservative spending pledges, and there are some concerns this is turning into a big-spending election," said Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors.