Thousands of US troops stormed deep into Helmand province in Afghanistan Thursday in a major assault against the Taliban. Chietigj Bajpaee from Control Risks has more.

With unemployment on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic Jean-Claude Trichet left interest rates on hold at 1% Thursday. Dr Jacques Cailloux from RBS has analysis.

Spain's Telefonica is mulling a swoop on T-Mobile UK in response to reports that Vodafone is planning to make a move of its own, according to the FT. Emeka Obiodu from Ovum has analysis.

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday and pushed on with its plans to buy covered bonds. Yves Wagner, president of Luxembourg Financial Analysts' Association, considers the outlook.

Julian Callow from Barclays Capital considers the outlook for credit conditions in the UK ahead of the Bank of England's report Thursday.

Sweden cautioned against over-zealous regulation of hedge funds and private equity funds Wednesday. Karsten Schroeder, CEO of Amplitude Capital, agreed the light-touch approach was best.