US - Deven Sharma, the man who oversaw the downgrade of the US' credit rating earlier this month, is stepping down as president of Standard & Poor's.

EUROPE - The European Central Bank has indicated it will raise interest rates for a second time in four months at next week's meeting.

GLOBAL - PIMCO's Bill Gross is urging investors to play the safe end of the credit space by shunning duration risk, as rising inflation hits yields.