Italian protests over soaring fuel prices and food shortages

Protests erupted in Italy over the weekend amid rising living costs, with clashes between police and demonstrators in Milan and road blockades by lorry drivers in the south.

Italian police faced off against protesters who threw stones and looted shops in Milan on Sunday during rallies against higher living expenses, while lorry drivers halted traffic across southern regions in response to surging fuel prices tied to the conflict in Iran.

Footage captured officers in riot gear deploying tear gas and water cannon after hundreds of masked demonstrators broke shop windows and ignited bins near Piazza del Duomo in central Milan.

The unrest mirrored violent scenes in France, where hundreds of thousands protested rising costs and strained public services on Saturday in some of the nation's most intense demonstrations in years.

At the same time, lorry drivers disrupted southern Italy by blocking key roads and causing major jams in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria over mounting financial strains on the haulage sector.

Hundreds of petrol stations ran dry, supermarkets faced shortages of fresh foods, and pharmacies reported impacts on essential supplies.

Pasquale Russo, president of Conftrasporto, stated that the group seeks an urgent government meeting with industry bodies or may pursue a nationwide strike, noting the tense situation from price hikes affecting transport firms.

39th anniversary of Black Monday

Today marks the 39th anniversary of Black Monday. The 1987 crash started in Hong Kong, spread to Europe and then Wall Street, where the Dow Jones plunged 23 percent to sit 34 percent below its early October level.

In London the FTSE 100 dropped 11 percent on the Monday, another 12 percent on Tuesday and 6 percent on Thursday, with traders reportedly frozen at screens as prices fell sharply.

Former chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson later recalled that the Bank of England appeared rattled and not thinking clearly amid the panic.

Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid noted that the Dow fell 22.6 percent on that day 39 years ago, adding that the anniversary on a Monday feels especially notable, with futures showing a rebound after Friday's late weakness.

French and Italian stocks tumble as French bond sell-off deepens

French and Italian stock markets each fell more than 1 percent, while French government bond yields rose, pushing the 10-year benchmark up 7.5 basis points to 4.855 percent.

The Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.4 percent, the FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent or 66 points to 10,815, and Germany's market declined 0.7 percent.

Analyst Jim Reid observed that France's political and fiscal challenges intensified after weekend protests turned violent, with 550,000 demonstrators according to officials and up to 800,000 per unions, resulting in 2,400 arrests and nearly 1,000 police injuries.

President Macron called for calm in a televised address, expressing anger and shame without declaring an emergency, while allowing local bans on protests near public sites and distinguishing peaceful groups from those blamed for the riots.

China's growth outlook

Economist Duncan Wrigley of Pantheon Macroeconomics reviewed the Chinese GDP data, noting that policymakers see efforts to stabilize third-quarter growth as successful despite imbalances and weak domestic demand.

Industrial production rose in September after coal mines resumed following safety checks, with manufacturing output up 6.0 percent year on year, supported by export demand for electronics, AI equipment and autos.

High-tech manufacturing continues to outpace traditional sectors as China advances in value-added production, giving officials confidence in hitting the 4.5-to-5 percent annual target with targeted support in the fourth quarter.

Analyst Stephen Innes stated that the headline GDP figure shows forward momentum, yet internals reveal factories leading while households, property and investment lag, with fixed-asset investment down 7.2 percent and property investment falling 20.6 percent over nine months.

Beijing faces less immediate need for aggressive easing, but reliance on external demand for factory output highlights growing trade imbalances ahead.