Evening Briefing Europe: Airbus, Korea, Brexit, Frankfurt, Spain, Iraq

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It was a masterstroke of deal-making. In the dead of the European night, Airbus CEO Tom Enders pounced on the financially troubled but technically advanced Bombardier C Series, taking control of the Canadian short-haul aircraft program without investing a penny. At a stroke, Airbus  gained a huge edge over arch-rival Boeing. Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Chris Bryant says the deal gives Boeing a “whopping black eye.” — Andy Reinhardt

Heightened rhetoric. As the U.S. and South Korea began one of their largest joint naval drills off both the east and west coasts of the Korean peninsula, North Korea warned ominously that a nuclear war “may break out any moment.” South Korean officials have been anticipating another possible missile test this week from Kim Jong Un’s regime. The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific warned that the situation in North Korea is a “recipe for disaster.”

Frozen. The U.K. and the European Union are each looking for the other side to make the next move at a summit this week, deepening the stalemate in Brexit talks. Theresa May’s dinner with EU chiefs Monday night doesn’t seem to have broken the logjam, raising the risk that the Brexit timeline may be extended. But in a positive sign, EU countries are aiming to complete preparatory work on a future relationship with the U.K. before the end of the year—a move that keeps hope alive for May’s government.

Not in our back yard. Frankfurt is winning the race among European cities to lure finance jobs away from London ahead of Brexit. At least nine banks have said they’ll move positions there. That could ultimately mean 10,000 new jobs and over $100 million annually in tax revenue for the city. But some locals aren’t thrilled, seeking to protect what they say is a cozy, comfortable city with little need for the cash and glitz—and higher housing costs—that wealthy newcomers may bring.

Spanish standoff. The separatist movement in Catalonia has been a crisis for Spanish politics—and now it could hit the country’s pocketbook. Spain’s economy was set to grow by 3 percent for a third straight year in 2017, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s reforms helping the country shake off the worst recession in its modern history. But now the turmoil has prompted Spain to cut its economic forecast for 2018 as Rajoy threatens to take direct control of Catalonia.

Oil flow. Tensions are escalating in Iraq, where Iraqi forces and allied Iranian-backed militias have expanded their campaign to retake oil-rich territory from Kurdish forces. The drive comes just weeks after the Kurdistan Regional Government included Kirkuk in its independence referendum. The prospect of a disruption from OPEC’s No. 2 producer lifted oil prices. Meanwhile, in neighboring Syria, Kurdish-led forces recaptured the city of Raqqa from Islamic State, signaling the near total collapse of the jihadist “caliphate.”

Eating out. An award from TripAdvisor may be less prestigious than other fine dining gongs watched by the restaurant industry—the mass-market travel site aggregates reviews from users, some of whom may not know much about cuisine. But that doesn’t mean you should discount the restaurant named the best in the world by the site. The Black Swan at Oldstead is a village pub in the countryside of northern England, and our restaurant reviewer concurs with the crowd—it’s very good.

Compiled by Andy Reinhardt and Leila Taha

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andy Reinhardt at areinhardt2@bloomberg.net, Leila Taha Adam Blenford

With assistance from Editorial Board