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The VocaLink take home pay index reveals a slight increase of 0.3% in the level of take home pay in October. While not enough to lift persistent weak pay growth for the year, it is an improvement after September saw the biggest month on month drop since May.

The euro area (EA13) seasonally-adjusted unemployment ratestood at 7.3% in September 2007, compared to 7.4% in August. It was 8.1% in September 2006. The EU27 unemployment rate was 7.0% in September 2007, compared with 7.1% in August. It was 8.0% in September 2006.

In October, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) weakened further in both the EU and the euro area. Following last month's sizeable drops, the ESI decreased more moderately by 1.1 points in the EU and by 1 point in the euro area, to 109.5 and 105.9 respectively. However, the indicator still remains well above its long-term average in both areas.

In the second quarter of 2007, the annual growth rate of net disposable income in the euro area equalled 5.0%, compared with 5.6% in the first quarter of 2007. The annual growth of consumption was 3.0% in the second quarter, which was lower than in the first quarter (3.4%).

In the second quarter of 2007, the seasonally adjusted gross saving rate of households was 14.3% in the euro area (EA13). For non-financial corporations, the investment rate was, in the second quarter of 2007, 22.9% in the euro area and 22.8% in the EU27.

The European Banking Federation (EBF) welcomes the entry into force of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which becomes applicable throughout the EU and the European Economic Area from 1 November 2007. Europe’s banks, trading platforms and ancillary service providers will from then on conduct their business under the new MiFID regime.

The Bloomberg Eurozone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index, an indicator based on a mid-month survey of economic conditions in the euro area retail sector and providing data one month ahead of government issued figures, signaled a drop in euro area retail sales in the first month of the fourth quarter. The PMI fell below the 50.0 no-change mark that divides expansion from contraction and, at 47.9 in October, indicated a moderate month-on-month decline in sales. Anecdotal evidence from survey panelists hinted that recent market instability and signs of a general economic slowdown had dented consumer confidence and kept some customers away from the high street.

On 1 November 2007, the Markets in Financial Services Directive will enter into force. The European Commission looks forward to the onset of this landmark law, which will play a central role in creating a robust, common regulatory framework for Europe's securities markets. MiFID will increase competition among exchanges, multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) and investment firms, giving them a "single passport" to operate throughout the EU on the basis of authorisation in their home Member State. Investors will not only have access to a greater number of trading venues, but also a more robust and comprehensive framework ensuring high levels of investor protection. Significant market developments are already underway in anticipation of this new, more competitive environment.

The European Union and Russia reached an agreement on trade in certain steel products at the EU-Russia Summit in Mafra, Portugal. The deal was signed for the European Union by Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado on behalf of the EU Presidency, and on the Russian side by the Minister of Trade and Economy, Elvira Nabiullina. The two sides agreed on quota levels for 2007 and 2008 on certain flat steel and long steel products, in order to replace autonomous EU measures that had been in place since January of 2007. Quota levels were raised to take into account the enlargement of the European Union with Bulgaria and Romania, as well as to cover deliveries to steel service centres in EU member states.