Today's top story: House of Frasers prospective owner issues profit warning
Today's leader: The EU's offer to extend Brexit talks could herald another election
This morning kicks off with the anticipation that the Bank of England will raise interest rates interest to their highest level since the financial crisis began almost a decade ago, by a predicted 0.25 per cent. The bank has so far held steady on raising rates because of weak economic conditions, including bad weather.
The Trump administration last night confirmed its proposal of a 25 per cent tariff on $200bn (£152bn) worth of imports from China, saying the increase from 10 per cent had been increased because Beijing has refused to meet US demands and imposed retaliatory tariffs of its own.
Asian shares again fell on Thursday owing to the fresh trade worries. MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.8 per cent, while Japans Nikkei declined 0.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 is expected to open slightly down this morning to 7,621 points according to IG Squawk.
The German Dax and French Cac are also expected to open slightly up this morning, at 12,688 points and 5,478 points, respectively.
Corporate news
- China's HNA is exploring a sale of Radisson Hotel Group, according to Bloomberg
- Siemens' profits in third quarter shrink from poor performance of power and gas division
- Uber rival Grab has secured new investment of $1bn from a number of financial firms, including Chinas Ping An Capital
Data
- 12.00 – BoE interest rate decision
- 12.00 – BoE asset purchase facility
- 12.30 – Mark Carney speech
