• Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday that it could consider raising South Korea’s sovereign credit rating if North Korea is sincere about stopping its provocative acts.
• A North Korean state agency threatened on Thursday to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” for supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution and sanctions over its latest nuclear test.
• The Bank of England must decide how forcefully to talk about the prospect of a first interest rate rise in a decade on Thursday when it will weigh up the need to help Britain’s Brexit-bound economy against tackling a jump in inflation
The BoE’s policymakers are widely expected to leave rates at a record low 0.25 percent when they make their latest policy statement at 11:00 GMT.
The consensus expectation is for a 7-2 vote on Thursday to keep rates on hold at 0.25 percent, and no change to the 435 billion pounds ($575 billion) of government bond holdings or 10 billion pounds of corporate debt.
• The European Central Bank’s chief economist renewed his call on Wednesday for a “steady hand” in conducting the ECB’s ultra-easy monetary policy despite a positive growth outlook.
Peter Praet’s words strike a cautious note as the ECB prepares to decide whether and how to wind down its 2.3 trillion euros stimulus programme, aimed at boosting inflation in the euro zone.
Indeed Praet cautioned inflation remained volatile and expectations for future price increases had yet to align with the ECB’s target of just under 2 percent despite a positive outlook for economic growth.
• The U.S. dollar’s rally paused on Thursday as traders waited for consumer inflation data later in the day for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will maintain its gradual pace of credit tightening.
The U.S. dollar was at 110.47 yen, steady from the late trade in the U.S. on Wednesday. It earlier rose to 110.735 yen, the highest since Aug. 16.
The euro held steady at $1.1878, having pulled back from a 2-1/2 year high of $1.2092 set on Friday.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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