10 things you need to know before European markets open
It's Super Thursday at the Bank of England. The UK's central bank will publish the minutes of its Monetary Policy Committee at 12 p.m. UK time (7 a.m. ET) along with its decisions on interest rates and asset purchases. Of the nine members, eight are expected to vote to hold rates at 0.5%.
Britain has suspended flights over the Sinai pensinsula after a Russian plane crash in Egypt last week. "As more information has come to light we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device," Prime Minister David Cameron's office said in a statement.
Deutsche Bank has been fined for busting sanctions. The bank will pay $258 million (£180 million) in fines for doing business with US-sanctioned countries like Iran and Syria, U.S. regulators said Wednesday.
Roche has found a way to kill drug-resistant bacteria. Researchers at Roche have developed a new weapon to fight hard-to-treat bacteria by arming an antibody with an antibiotic to reach and kill bugs hidden inside cells.
The EU wants to strengthen its antitrust regulators. EU antitrust regulators are seeking public feedback over how to strengthen national competition authorities in the 28-country bloc, with some currently limited in their access to cloud-based information or in the amount of penalties they can impose.
Romania's president is resigning. The country's government collapsed after thousands of people took to the streets to protest a deadly fire at a heavy metal concert, the final straw after a five-month corruption investigation that has shaken the nation.
Alstom is planning a huge share buy-back. French engineering group Alstom said it would launch a share buy-back program worth 3.2 billion euros ($3.5 billion) on Dec. 23.
European retail sales data are coming at 11 a.m. UK time (6 a.m. ET). The sales data, released by Eurostat covers the month of September and will indicate the state of consumer spending in the 28-member EU bloc. Sales are forecast to have increased by 0.2%.
The U.S. trade gap narrowed sharply. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more sharply than expected in September, the Commerce Department, falling to $40.8 billion in September from a revised $48.0 billion in August.
Greek banks might cost less to recapitalize than first thought. The euro zone may need to spend only €10 billion or less to help recapitalize Greek banks, a senior EU official said, after an ECB test showed the sector would need an extra €14.4 billion of capital if major risks materialized.