Stephanie Gruner Buckley

In the latest sign that businesses behaving badly has become a chronic theme, dozens of people gathered today at City University in London for the launch party of a coalition called Whistleblowers UK. Well-known whistleblowers such as Ian Foxley, who questioned payments to Saudi officials made by aerospace defense firm EADS, want to share their experiences with others to make airing crimes by companies and governments easier. (Foxley’s allegations led to a probe by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, which is still in progress). The organization, which has been operating since March, features a 24-hour hotline, as well as lawyers and psychotherapists working pro-bono.

Here’s a painful surprise: Industrial production unexpectedly sank 3.8% in October from the previous month across the 17-country euro zone, suggesting the recession is worsening and most countries are getting dragged down. Across the 27 European Union countries, industrial production declined 1.5% from September—more than expected. Eurostat monthly numbers showed industrial production falling in fourteen European countries with the biggest monthly declines (for which data is available) in:

Today Wal-Mart conceded it needed tighter controls over its supply chain so that the factory fire that claimed 112 lives in Bangladesh last month won’t happen again. The world’s largest retailer, though, stopped short of truly taking blame: The factory making Faded Glory clothing was not approved by Wal-Mart, according to the company, but rather subcontracted by one that was.

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The tide is turning on tax-avoiding multinational companies. Today it emerged that Google avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes last year, using strategies known as the “double Irish” and the “Dutch sandwich”, by channelling revenues through operations in Ireland, the Netherlands, and ultimately Bermuda, where there is no corporate tax. Google says the strategy is legal, but governments in France, the UK, Italy and Australia are investigating whether they’re due money.

Venezuelans, Argentinians, Vietnamese, Ukrainians, and Indonesians are positioned to make the biggest wage increases next year, according to a new study by Hay Group, out today, while Europeans including the Irish, Greeks, and the Spaniards will see wages rise the least, if at all.

Update (Dec. 8 at 11:00 a.m. ET): Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday confirmed his intention to run again for Italian prime minister, saying, “I return to politics with despair and out of a sense of responsibility…. I enter the race to win.”

The Financial Times Deutschland (FTD), an unprofitable German broadsheet owned by Bertelsmann’s Gruner & Jahr, has folded, and who’s to blame?

It’s a happy holiday season for Prada. Nine-month net profits surged 50% from the same period last year to €409 million ($536 million). Sales for the Italian fashion company jumped 35% to €2.3 billion, and it has opened 63 new stores in the last 12 months. Applauding the company’s efforts, Patrizio Bertelli, its chief executive, said: “The Prada Group has again shown that it has the necessary ability and spirit of initiative to generate positive results, even in the difficult current international economic climate.”

Starbucks caved to public pressure today by agreeing to pay more corporate tax in the UK than it has to. Kris Engskov, managing director of Starbucks UK, said that in 2013 and 2014, the company will not claim tax deductions for things like royalties it pays or coffee it purchases—though it legally can—while agreeing to pay a significant amount in corporation tax over the next two years whether the company is profitable or not. Starbucks is still running the numbers, but it’s expected to prepay roughly an extra £10 million ($16.1 million) in each of the next two years.

On Dec. 5 in London, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver his Autumn Statement, an annual update on the state of the British economy and public finances. No one is expecting a cheery scenario as UK economic growth continues to disappoint and government officials struggle to find ways to spur growth while reducing public spending.

The terms of a Greek bond buyback plan are good news for hedge fund managers. Last week, hedge funds drove up prices for Greek sovereign debt correctly betting that Europe’s finance ministers would back off an original pledge to pay no more than roughly 28% of its face value.

Canada, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, and the UK top the list of OECD countries with the highest share of immigrants with university-level degrees—ranging from 40% in Luxembourg to 52% in Canada. A study out today by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says that in these five countries, higher degrees are substantially overrepresented among immigrants as compared to native-born people.

French and Germany shareholders are in talks to change the shareholding and corporate governance structures of European aerospace giant, and Airbus parent, EADS. The company confirmed the news on Monday, in response to a flurry of recent press reports. The company didn’t say a whole lot more, except to explain it was participating in these discussions and that any changes would require board approval. A new deal could be announced as early as today.

The vast majority of Europeans favor deciding for themselves how and when they will die, according to a surprising new survey by Isopublic on behalf of the Swiss Medical Lawyers Association. Only people from the 12 countries above were surveyed. More questions and answers from this fairly large study, can be found here.

German members of parliament voted 473 to 100 to release €43.7 billion ($56.7) in aid for Greece, just in time to stave off bankruptcy in Athens. Eleven members of parliament abstained.

Numbers out today show that unemployment rose again across Europe, leaving nearly 26 million people out of work across the 27-country European Union. The continuing euro zone crisis and government cutbacks are fueling high joblessness. The unemployment rate in the EU rose to 10.7% in October, up from 10.6% a month earlier. In the 17-country euro zone bloc, unemployment increased to 11.7% in October, up from 11.6% in September.

British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday supported the idea of a new independent regulator that could impose fines on the UK press for misconduct, but called plans to underpin this regulator with legislation a step too far. Before Parliament, he said he had serious concerns and misgivings about this particular proposal. He said:

Earlier this month in a northern province of Spain, 120 local and immigrant families including people from Uruguay, Morocco, Senegal, Mongolia, and lots of Basques, sat down to home-cooked lunches in 60 different homes. The multi-culti meals were part of a project called Next Door Family, which ran simultaneously in seven other European countries as part of a program to break stereotypes and remove fears between locals and immigrants.

Bloomberg reports that the US government has abandoned plans to have an official panel help Jewish heirs find art looted by the Nazis. The news follows a one-day meeting in The Hague with panels from the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and France, set up to manage numerous art claims over what has been described as the “biggest art heist in history.” Members of the five panels and other experts met to discuss their progress.

A British inquiry into the repeated bad behavior of the UK press called for tougher independent self-regulation backed by legislation, and an arbitration system by which victims of the press can seek redress without going to court. The announcement followed a 16-month investigation into how the British news business should be reined in, following the widespread phone-hacking scandal last year. Lord Justice of Appeal Brian Leveson, head of the so-called Leveson Inquiry, said in a press briefing today:

German unemployment rose again for the eighth straight month in a row, according to German government figures out today. Nearly three million people are now without jobs, up a seasonally adjusted 5,000 new claims. German firms postponing hiring and investment decisions amid the ongoing euro zone crisis were to blame.

Siemens announced late yesterday that it had agreed to buy the rail communications business of British technology firm Invensys for £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion), while also divesting its baggage handling, packaging and letter sorting business used at airports and post offices. Both moves are an attempt by the German engineering giant to focus on core activities and boost profits.

The European Commission gave the green light today to pump about €40 billion ($51.9 billion) into Spain’s nationalized banks in a bid to end the troubled economy’s banking crisis. Bankia, NCG Banco, and Catalunya Banc will be recapitalized, while Banco de Valencia will cease to exist as a stand-alone bank and be sold and integrated into CaixaBank. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia in a statement said: