A Flurry Of Employment News Drops Ahead Of Friday''s Jobs Report (Thursday Market Open) The Bank of England (BoE) raised its key lending rate by 50 basis points, its biggest hike in 27 years. Potential Market Movers The BoE, unlike the Federal Reserve, is expressing strong concerns about a potential recession. It also emphasized that it could be battling inflation for some time. In reaction to the news, the British pound strengthened against the U.S. dollar in the spot market and the London FTSE 100 was up 0.56% before the U.S. markets opened. U.S. investors are trying to make sense of the weekly EIA inventories report that showed an unexpected increase in crude oil and gasoline. While the news is helping push oil and gas prices lower, this new reading on lack of demand raises concerns over the strength of the U.S. economy as consumers appear to be staying closer to home. Adding to the economic picture, initial jobless claims came in a little higher than expected at 260,000, just above the forecasted 259,000. The Challenger Job Cut report showed that layoffs have increased 36.3% year-over-year but at a lower rate than the previous month.