Good morning. Europe is moving to relax some of the world’s tightest digital regulations in a bid to boost growth and reduce its reliance on U.S. tech.

Germany and France on Tuesday backed an effort by the European Union, long seen as a global rulesetter for technology, artificial intelligence and digital services, to loosen regulatory strictures on the fast-growing, U.S.-dominated sectors.

• The proposal: The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, on Wednesday introduced a proposal to pare back some elements of its sweeping digital laws. The proposed changes include measures that aim to make it easier for companies to use data to train AI models and delays to the enforcement of certain provisions in the EU’s new AI law.
   
• Regulations pared back: French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Germany would push for compliance with core provisions of the EU’s AI rules to be postponed by a year and for Europe’s stringent data-privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, to be relaxed. Both U.S. and European companies have argued that GDPR had made it hard to obtain and use the data needed to train advanced AI systems.
   
• The context: Business leaders across Europe have grown frustrated at the torrent of legislation that has been gushing from Brussels in recent years, not just covering tech. Some have called the resulting red tape a bigger obstacle to growth than President Trump’s tariffs.

AIG withdrew executive hire after inquiry into alleged inappropriate workplace relationship.

American International Group pulled John Neal’s appointment as the insurer’s second-in-command after it discovered his previous employer launched an investigation into an alleged workplace affair, according to people familiar with the matter.

The insurance behemoth’s last-minute reversal prompted a hasty reshuffle of senior AIG executives and stunned many in the industry. Insurance insiders asked how an appointment of an heir apparent could fall apart days before he was set to enter the building.

Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board after Epstein revelations.

Former Harvard University President Larry Summers has resigned from OpenAI’s board after receiving criticism for previously undisclosed correspondence between him and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision,” the OpenAI board said in a statement Wednesday. The board said it appreciated his contributions and the perspective he brought.

• WH Smith said Chief Executive Carl Cowling resigned after an accounting review identified issues at its North America unit.
   
• Santander’s exposure to First Brands and other companies owned by founder Patrick James has grown to around $300 million after James defaulted on a loan he took out earlier this year to buy a French car parts group.
   
• Swedish battery-electric truck startup Einride is suing Danish logistics giant Maersk over an aborted deal to deploy hundreds of zero-emission trucks in the U.S.

Dragonfly’s annual geopolitical assessment explores the key trends and risks businesses should expect to face in 2026, including major flashpoints for armed conflict, the outlook for rivalry and competition among the great world powers, and the effect elections could have on regional and global security alliances.

To attend the Nov. 27 event at the News Building in London, click here.

Fed’s October rate decision fueled pushback over possible December cut.

Divisions over whether the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates next month deepened at officials’ October meeting, leaving a growing contingent—and potentially a narrow majority—of policymakers uncomfortable with a December rate reduction.

“Participants expressed strongly differing views about what policy decision would most likely be appropriate at the committee’s December meeting,” according to a written record of the meeting released Wednesday afternoon with the customary three-week lag.

• Labor Department Won’t Publish October Unemployment Rate

EU proposes multibillion-Euro plan to boost military mobility, defense tech amid Russia tensions.

The European Union proposed a multibillion-euro spending plan to improve the transport of weapons and troops and to support defense technology startups, as tensions with Russia remain high.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the bloc, on Wednesday proposed spending up to 17.65 billion euros ($20.44 billion) between 2028 and 2034 on upgrading the union’s transport infrastructure to ensure that bridges, roads, tunnels and railways can sustain the movement of heavy and large military equipment.

• Ukraine Strikes Russia With Atacms After Trump Lifted Long-Range Missile Ban
• Russia Threatens to Retaliate Over Frozen Assets (Risk Journal)

• Lukoil’s forced sale of its international assets must be approved by the U.S. Treasury Department, the agency said weeks after blocking a bid for the energy company from Swiss commodities trader Gunvor, Risk Journal’s Max Fillion reports. 
   
• The U.K.’s annual rate of inflation declined in October for the first time since May, strengthening expectations that the Bank of England will cut its key rate next month.
   
• The U.S. trade deficit shrank in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, giving a delayed look at how tariffs were shaping international trade flows over the summer.

• Eric Kerr left the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2023 but kept searching for Conspirator 1, a North Korean spy who allegedly targeted a Kansas hospital in a ransomware attack.
   
• A former FBI employee is suing the FBI and Director Kash Patel, saying he was fired for previously displaying an LGBTQ Pride flag at his workstation.
   
• This summer, Oslo’s public-transport authority drove a Chinese electric bus deep into a decommissioned mine inside a nearby mountain to answer a question: Could it be hacked?
   
• Block, the parent company of Cash App and Afterpay plans to make its version of a credit score available to users.

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