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Rising labor costs will contribute to inflation in Europe, according to the CEO of Wienerberger.

Heimo Scheuch, CEO of the building materials group, discussed the company’s deal with Terreal and how it deals with inflation on “Squawk Box Europe”.

Deloitte fined more than £900,000 ($1.1 billion) after failures in its audits of building materials supplier SIGHT for the financial years 2015 and 2016, according to Britain’s accounting watchdog.

The Financial Reporting Council said it imposed a fine of £1.25m, which was reduced to £906,250 once Deloitte admitted wrongdoing over its work on the financial statements.

Deloitte was reprimanded and ordered to take steps to prevent future violations.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

The dollar fell on Tuesday as markets began to decline ahead of the holiday period.

The US dollar index — which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies — fell 0.44% to 103.75 early Thursday, the lowest level in seven days. By 4:20 a.m. ET, it was trading around 103.94.

The euro rose 0.47% against the dollar to $1.0655, though it pared some gains to trade around $1.0631 by 4:20 am ET.

The German government has completed its takeover of utility company Uniper and now owns 99% of the shares, according to a statement by the economy and finance ministries, Reuters reports.

The move effectively nationalizes the controversial natural gas trader.

The European Commission approved the bailout on Wednesday, saying the measure “aims to restore the financial position and liquidity of Uniper in the exceptional situation caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent disruption of gas supplies.”

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

The UK economy shrank more than originally forecast in the third quarter of 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Economic output fell 0.3% quarter-on-quarter between July and September, a downward revision from the original 0.2% estimate.

Business investment fell 2.5% compared to the second quarter of the year, missing expectations for a 0.5% drop.

slowdowns in manufacturing and construction brought down the headline figure, despite a marginal increase of 0.1% in the services sector.

Household disposable income also fell for the fourth consecutive quarter, falling 0.5%.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Oil prices rose as the US anticipates what she National Weather Service described as “dangerously cold” over the next few days.

Brent crude futures rose 0.52% to $82.63 a barrel, while US marker West Texas Intermediate futures traded up 0.64% at $78.79 a barrel.

On a larger scale, year-end holiday travel is also expected to increase jet fuel consumption.

– Lee Ying Shan

The International Monetary Fund expressed support for the Bank of Japan’s latest decision to widen its yield curve control tolerance band.

“With uncertainty about the inflation outlook, the Bank of Japan’s adjustment of yield curve control settings is a sensible step, including given concerns about bond market functioning,” said Ranil Salgado, the chief of mission to Japan at the IMF.

Salgado added that clearer communication about changes to the central bank’s monetary policy could improve the BOJ’s credibility and “help anchor market expectations,” he said.

– Jihye Lee

Destination Wealth CEO Michael Yoshikami said he expects “tremendous” market volatility in 2023, but investors don’t need to stay on the sidelines.

“Boring. That’s the key,” he said. “The alternative is you pull the money out of the market, you put it in cash until the market comes back. So, it’s a way for you to safely still be in the market in more defensive names while still being able to participate in the market if it goes up.”

He named six large-cap stocks that investors can take refuge in.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

European markets are headed for a higher open Thursday, building on gains seen in the previous session.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 26 points higher at 5,517, Germany’s DAX 33 points higher at 14,126, France’s CAC 21 points on 6,599 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 80 points out of 24,163, according to data from IG.

There are no big earnings or data releases.

— Holly Elliott