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Boeing reaches a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers in Nov. 2011. Under the agreement Boeing will build the 737 MAX, a retooled version, at a union plant in Renton, Washington. In exchange the union will not oppose Boeing's use of a new nonunion plant in South Carolina for assembling some 787 Dreamliners. The agreement when approved by union vote would extend the contract for 4 years till 2016. Advantages to Boeing lie in labor peace during a period when Boeing plans to increase production by about one third, over 2012-2014, to meet aircraft orders of $332 billion. Existing 737 production has been moved up to 35 a month, going up to 42 a month, accelerating the pace significantly, making it important for both sides to avoid labor discord. The Max first delivery is planned for 2017. In the current unemployment crisis there was considerable incentive on both sides to resolve the issue quickly, after the union had raised the issue with the National Labor Relations Board. It provides Boeing with flexibility in assembling some of the 787's in S. Carolina along with assurance for union commitment to productivity, and gives the union assurances that Boeing will continue to maintain significant maufacturing presence in the Washington area, a win-win for both sides. The NLRB appeal will be dropped by the union....

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Economic growth in India has slowed to 6.9% for the June to September period 2011, compared with the prior year, according to a government report. The sequence of rate increases by India's central bank have failed to slow inflation, and foreign investment is declining. Economists now forecast growth at 6% for 2012, a low rate of growth for India, which has a growing population approaching 1.2 billion people and serious infrastructure problems. This creates a scenario of stagflation- high inflation and low growth. The fears are now for a combination of high government debt, infrastructure issues, and lack of foreign investment. This is leading to moves by the Indian government to bring up long delayed efforts in the area of opening the retail industry to foreign investment. And lifting quotas on foreign ownership of Indian bonds, allowing foreign pension managers into India. The value of the Indian currency has declined 15%, in 3 months since August 2011. The eurozone crisis and the combination of slowgrowth and high unemployment in the U.S. are leading to foreign investors withdrawing from emerging markets, with a sharp impact on India. A combination of domestic and international factors are hitting India after two decades of high growth. ...

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Under the coordinated action by central banks in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the ECB, the U.S. Federal Reserve lends dollars to the ECB, getting euros in return, and the ECB in turn provides European banks with the U.S. dollars. The European banks were facing a shortage of U.S. dollars in November 2011. Money market funds in the U.S. had pulled back from investing in eurozone bonds in the third quarter of 2011, adding to the shortage of dollars. This action eases liquidity concerns.

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Coordinated action by the central banks of the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, the EU, and Japan to ease liquidity problems, as Italy's borrowing rates edged up to 8%, and other EU countries faced similiar problems in November, 2011.

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Argentine president Christina Kirchner asks trade unions to accept wage increases of 18% instead of 25%. Estimates of inflation in Argentina range from 20% to 25%. Official estimates of 10% inflation are highly understated.

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A new report from Tepco and the Japanese government says the reactor core melted fully. Nuclear-fuel rods melted completely, burning through to the bottom of a second containment vessel and eroding two metres into the concrete bottom, and close to breaching the vessel's steel casing.