MNI Morning Global Briefing

     LONDON (MNI) - The calendar remains quiet in terms of speeches Friday.

However, some events that should not be missed are the release of the US nonfarm

payroll data including the unemployment rate and U.S figures for housing starts

and building permits both at 1330GMT. In Europe the release of industrial

production data for France, Spain and Italy at 0745GMT, 0800GMT and 0900GMT,

respectively, are worth noting.

     The US unemployment rate for January was 4% and the MNI median suggests a

slight decrease to 3.9%.

     After a dramatic slowdown in December the pace of housing starts is

expected to make a slight recovery to a 1.178 million pace in January. The

Federal Government shutdown and the inability to process government loans are

both negative risks for the month.

     Year-on-year figures for industrial production have been weak in

France(-1.4%), Spain (-6.2%) and Italy (-5.5%) for December. According to the

MNI median January's value for France is expected to rebound to +0.5%.

     San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly participates in a conference in

Washington at 1500GMT and ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch gives a speech

in Luxembourg at 1630GMT.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com