Deflation threat for Eurozone; Uber's value more than doubles $40bn; US workers seeks $15` minimum pay

1 Deflation threat for Eurozone (BBC) The eurozone's inflation rate fell to 0.3% in November, from 0.4% in October, suggesting that deflation remains a threat for the 18-nation bloc. Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, said that the rate was pulled down by lower energy prices. The European Central Bank considers anything below 1% to be in its deflation "danger zone".

The eurozone's low inflation is blamed for undermining growth, which has prompted ECB stimulus measures. A fear among policymakers is that if deflation takes hold, consumers and companies will delay purchases in the hope prices will fall further.

Earlier this week, Germany's inflation reading fell to its lowest for nearly five years. Separately, Eurostat said eurozone unemployment remained at 11.5% in October, unchanged from September. However, the number of unemployed actually rose by 60,000, the biggest monthly jump since January 2013.

Jonathan Loynes, chief european economist at Capital Economics, said the inflation and jobless data "gives the ECB yet another nudge to take urgent further action to revive the recovery and tackle the threat of deflation".

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30243113

2 Uber’s value more than doubles (Chris Johnston in The Guardian) Uber, the taxi service that allows users to hail a ride using their smartphone, has been valued at more than $40bn  after its latest funding round. The total is more than double the $18.2bn the company was said to be worth in June, when it raised $1.2bn from investors including Fidelity Investments and BlackRock.

Uber did not reveal who had put a further $1.2bn in the business. It already counts Goldman Sachs and Google Ventures as investors. The latest valuation make the business worth more than listed companies such as the airline Delta ($37.4bn) and Kraft Foods ($35.4bn).

Only Facebook was valued higher as a private company – $50bn – by investors when it raised money ahead of floating on Nasdaq. The social network is now valued at almost $210bn. Travis Kalanick, its co-founder and chief executive, said the new funding would allow the company to expand, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. He said Uber is now six times larger than it was 12 months ago, operating in more than 250 cities in 50 countries.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/05/uber-value-doubles-after-fundraising

3 US workers seek $15 minimum pay (Straits Times) Fast-food workers and others in low-pay jobs on Thursday launched one-day strikes and protests across the US demanding a $15 an hour minimum wage and union rights. The current federal minimum pay is $7.25

Organisers said workers at major chains like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell walked off their jobs in more than 190 cities, from Los Angeles and Phoenix to Chicago, New York and Washington. For the first time since fast-food workers began walkouts two years ago, they were joined by workers from convenience stores and markets in 24 cities, the Fight for $15 campaign said in a statement.

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/united-states/story/fast-food-workers-strike-across-us-20-hour-minimum-pay-20141205