The European Central Bank has shut down Banks' Integrated Reporting Dictionary after malware infected the website. The ECB says it is contacting people whose information might have been compromised.

The UK pound on Thursday had its best day since Prime Minister Boris Johnson took office, rising above $1.21 following the release stronger-than-expected retail sales data.

Banks worldwide, particularly those in Europe, have eliminated more than 48,500 jobs this year, filings show. Job losses might be underreported because of a lack of disclosure or because announced cuts have yet to occur.

Average daily European equity trading volumes fell 15% in July to €53 billion while dark-pool volumes rose to their highest level since October 2017, a TABB Group analysis finds. The analysis also shows that periodic auction volumes have fallen after having risen following the introduction of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.

The Federal Reserve's recent interest rate cut and Brexit concerns might be behind a collapse of the basis between interest rate swap rates at clearing houses CME and LCH.

ING has introduced the first sustainability-improvement derivative, which is tied to a firm's environmental, social and governance performance. Leonie Schreve, global head of sustainable finance, says that the market is evolving but that "there is appetite for sustainability products".

The European Central Bank has shut down Latvia's PNB bank, deeming it insolvent. The ECB said PNB had seen a "significant deterioration in its capital situation to the point that the bank's assets were less than its liabilities."

Trade bodies are working to establish a single standard reporting template to cover different sets of European rules under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation to "avoid the divergence of standards in different areas of the market."

Japan became the largest holder of US government bonds in June. Japan increased holdings of Treasurys to $1.12 trillion, surpassing China's $1.11 trillion.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has fined Kraft Heinz and Mondelez International $16 million for wheat manipulation, saying the firms bought $90 million of December 2011 wheat futures but never intended to take possession of the grain. The action caused a price fluctuation that earned the firms more than $5 million in profits, the CFTC said.