http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/business/updates-on-europes-economy-and-an-opec-meeting.html 2014-11-24 03:20:16 Updates on Europe’s Economy, and an OPEC Meeting The European Commission will offer infrastructure spending, and eurozone reports on inflation and jobs are due; OPEC ministers will meet, but output cuts are uncertain. === INVESTMENT PLAN IS EXPECTED FROM The European Commission, the European Union’s executive agency, which took office this month, is expected to present plans this week to raise 300 billion euros to invest in infrastructure and other projects. The initiative is backed strongly by Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission’s president, as a response to signs that Europe is tumbling into a lost decade of low growth and high unemployment. But the initiative has raised questions about how much new money would be provided and how much growth it could realistically deliver. The commission was also expected to decide whether to recommend fining France for repeatedly breaking European Union rules requiring members to bring their budget deficits within 3 percent of gross domestic product. Cracking down too hard on France could lead to a political backlash, but caving in could damage the credibility of the eurozone. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT TO ISSUE REVISED ESTIMATE OF GROWTH On Tuesday, the Commerce Department will offer its revised view of economic growth in the third quarter. The initial estimate, on Oct. 30, showed growth of 3.5 percent on an annualized basis in the months of July, August and September. Wall Street is looking for a modest downward revision in estimated growth for the period, amid signs that the trade balance was weaker than first thought. This is the second of three estimates of third-quarter economic growth. The department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis will release the final revision Dec. 23. OPEC With oil prices having fallen by more than $30 a barrel in recent months, energy ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet in Vienna on Thursday. The organization still looks divided on whether to cut back output in an effort to prop up the market. RESISTING In the fierce competition for consumers’ EUROPEAN UNION TO REPORT ON INFLATION AND LABOR MARKET Reports on eurozone inflation for November and the labor market situation in October are set for release on Friday from Eurostat, the European Union statistical agency. A private sector survey of purchasing managers last week showed economic activity decelerating, adding to worries about the region’s economy and the eurozone jobless rate, which is expected to hold near 11.5 percent.