Reuters/Stefan Wermuth
A seagull flies past the Houses of Parliament in central London, Britain November 2, 2016.
Bank of England holds. Britain's central bank held interest rates steady at their record low of 0.25% on Thursday, after the November meeting of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
Inflation will more than double to overshoot the Bank of England's 2% inflation target in 2018, driven up by a falling currency, the central bank said. "In the central projection, inflation rises from its current level of 1% to around 2.75% in 2018, before falling back gradually over 2019 to reach 2.5% in three years' time," the Bank said in its inflation report published on Thursday.
The High Court ruled on Thursday that Prime Minister Theresa May MUST get parliamentary approval before invoking Article 50. Three of the country's most senior judges, including Lord Chief Justice John Thomas, ruled unanimously that May is legally required to pass an act of parliament before initiating Britain's formal withdrawal from the European Union.
Britain's case to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval could end up in the EU's highest court. The government's legal battle to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval could be referred to the EU's European Court of Justice (ECJ), according to lawyers.
It is composite PMI day in Europe. Throughout the morning, we'll get the latest Purchasing Managers Index numbers from Europe's biggest economies, giving a good indication of how things looked in the month of October. Individual PMI numbers will be released for the services sector, as well as a composite reading for all sectors of the eurozone economy.
It is Jobs Day in the USA. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday will release its monthly report on America's employment situation during October. The report drops four days before a heated election. And you can be sure that both candidates will capitalize on what they think the report says about the US economy.
Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank recorded a substantial loss in the third quarter. The bank saw net loss of €288 million, compared to a profit of €235 million during the same period in 2015, the company said in a statement on Friday. The losses come after CEO Martin Zielke unveiled the German lender's biggest overhaul since the financial crisis.
Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a two and a half week low on Friday after major stocks like automakers stumbled on continued uncertainty surrounding next week's U.S. presidential election. The Nikkei ended 1.3% lower at 16,905.36, the lowest closing level since October 17. For the week, the Nikkei tumbled 3.1%, the biggest weekly drop in four months.
Egypt's central bank floated the pound on Thursday in an attempt to stabilize its economy, which has been hampered by a shortage of dollars. The currency was initially devalued by 32.3% to about 13 pounds per dollar, down from the previous peg of 8.8 per dollar, which had been in place since March. It has since tumbled further, and is now down by about 50%.
Japan and Russia will discuss closer economic cooperation at a summit next month. The two powerhouse nations will focus on about 30 items of economic cooperation ahead of a December summit at which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes to make progress in resolving a long-festering territorial row, said the Nikkei business daily.