•Global crude futures recovered some of the steep declines seen late Thursday as market participants took profits. "It has come off so much--people are having a breather and taking profit," a London-based broker said.

•Global bourses had suffered Thursday as negative sentiment spread worldwide. "The past two months have seen a substantial downward shift in the prospects for inflation in the United Kingdom, the BOE said Thursday, after slashing its key lending rate by 150 basis points to 3%. "There has been a very marked deterioration in the outlook for economic activity at home and abroad." The European Central Bank cut its base rate by 50 basis points to 3.25%.

•Focus will now turn to the US employment data, which is likely to influence both the relative strength of the dollar and economic sentiment. Consensus expectations are for a loss of 200,000 jobs.

Updated: November 7, 2008