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U.K. retail sales declined 0.1% in October
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. retail sales fell 0.1% in October compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Office of National Statistics Thursday. The drop was smaller than the 0.9% decline expected by economists. Sales in the month were up 1.9% compared to a year earlier. Compared to September, the Office of National Statistics said higher sales in predominantly food stores helped offset a decline for non-food stores.

PSA Peugeot Citroen to cut 2,700 jobs
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said it's cutting 2,700 jobs through voluntary departures. The job cuts come after a "violent drop in volumes" and the car maker says European car sales will drop by around 10% in 2009.

Sweden's Sandvik announces 2,450 job cuts
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Sandvik , the Swedish industrial tool maker, said it's cutting 2,450 jobs, mostly in its materials technology division in Sweden. Sandvik said the negative trend from the third quarter has continued in to the fourth quarter. Sandvik also may make temporary layoffs of up to 200 people and it's closing its Perth, Australia surface drill rig maker that employs 50.

World economic climate falls to lowest level in 20 years
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Ifo World Economic Climate fell in the fourth quarter to its worst level in more than 20 years, to 60 points from 73.4 points in the third quarter. The long-term average of the poll is 96.8. Both the current situation and the expectations for the coming six months have worsened further. The Ifo Institute, which produces a closely watched German economic gauge, said it polled 1,001 experts in 91 countries.

Daily Mail shares up 5% after targeting cost savings
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares in U.K. newspaper publisher Daily Mail & General Trust rose around 5% early Thursday after it reported a drop of just 9% in underlying profit before tax to 262 million pounds ($391 million). The group said reported net profit fell 86% to 16.8 million pounds due to higher finance costs and the impact of amortization and goodwill impairments. Revenue for the period rose 3% to 2.31 billion pounds. The newspaper publisher said it's targeting cost savings of 100 million pounds to counter anticipated advertising weakness and newsprint price increases. It also said it's maintaining its final dividend at 9.9 pence a share.

European stocks drop, including Rolls-Royce, Air France-KLM
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks opened lower on Thursday, with stocks on the Continent feeling the pressure from the Citigroup-led downturn on Wall Street. Rolls-Royce lost 6.4% as the engine maker said it was cutting 2,000 jobs and Air France-KLM lost 4.2% as the airline reported a 96% profit drop. The U.K. FTSE 100 dropped 2% to 3,926, the German DAX 30 lost 2.5% to 4,244 and the French CAC 40 fell 2.1% to 3,023.