The Bank of England unexpectedly left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, placing the response to slowing economic growth in a more important position than inflation, but the credibility of the central bank has also been questioned. The Bank of England policymakers led by Governor Andrew Bailey voted 7-2 to keep the benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.1%. This decision shocked traders. They sharply lowered their interest rate hike expectations, causing the pound to plummet 1.3% against the dollar. British government bonds rose, and the yield on 5-year government bonds was the biggest drop since the Brexit referendum.

OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia, kicked the ball against high oil prices back to U.S. President Biden and rejected his request for a substantial increase in production. The multiple choice now before Biden is whether to use strategic oil reserves. After a brief meeting on Thursday, OPEC+ approved an increase of 400,000 barrels per day in December. Some major oil-consuming countries believe that the speed is too slow to sustain economic recovery after the epidemic. The US proposed increase in output is twice that of 400,000 barrels. The White House quickly responded to OPEC+'s decision, reiterating that it will consider "all tools" to protect the economy. Crude oil futures gave up gains. At 1:01 pm New York time, oil prices fell 0.8% to US$80.21 per barrel.

Productivity in the United States in the third quarter fell the most since 1981, reflecting a sharp decline in economic growth and an increase in working hours. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that the hourly output of non-agricultural employees fell by 5% in the third quarter. In contrast, the second quarter grew by 2.4%, while economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a decline of 3.1%. Production rate figures are often very unstable.

The US trade deficit widened to a record level in September, mainly due to a rebound in imports and a decline in exports, indicating that the post-epidemic recovery has gone further than many other economies in the world. Data released by the US Department of Commerce on Thursday showed that the trade deficit in goods and services rose 11.2% to US$80.9 billion in September, which was revised to US$72.8 billion in August. The median value of Bloomberg's survey of economists was a deficit of $80.2 billion.

Credit Suisse Group will reduce its investment banking business and will transfer more resources to its wealth management subsidiary. This is part of Credit Suisse's restructuring, trying to draw a line in the year when the Archegos Capital Management and Greensill scandals hit Credit Suisse. The Zurich-based bank is exiting most institutional brokerage services business, Bill Hwang’s family office exploded, and the bank transferred approximately US$3 billion of capital from the investment banking sector to the private banking sector. According to Bloomberg News reported earlier this week, Credit Suisse will also be reorganized into four divisions, and it is reported that it will create a separate wealth subsidiary.

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