Disney earnings, jobless claims, England rates

Here are the most important things to know about Thursday before you hit the door.

Disney reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday. Credit Suisse expects the media giant to report earnings of 88 cents per share, compared to the $1.48 per share earned in the same period last year. The large cut in earnings is mainly due to increased spending ahead of the launch of the new Disney+ streaming service this month.

Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson said investors will be hoping for some “pre-sale color for the less than one week out Disney+ launch.”

Shares of Disney are down about 7% in the last three months but are still up about 29% year to date.

We’ll get a read on the health of the labor market on Thursday when the Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Economist are estimating 215,000 Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, according to Dow Jones, down from the previous week’s 218,000 claims.

Investors will hope the numbers show October’s better-than-expected jobs trend is continuing into this month.

The central bank of the world’s fifth largest economy, the Bank of England, will announce its decision on interest rates Thursday. The central bank is largely expected to keep its benchmark rate at 0.75% so traders will be parsing the BOE’s comments on inflation and Brexit for clues about future policy.

The European Union gave Britain an extension until January 31 to pass a Brexit deal, but uncertainty continues to hang over whether England will successfully leave the EU and if leaving could lead to further economic weakness.

Major events (all times ET):

7:00 a.m. Bank of England decision

8:30 a.m. Jobless claims

1:05 p.m. Dallas Fed President Kaplan

3:00 p.m. Consumer credit

7:10 p.m. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic