Thursday is a moderately busy day for economic news, mostly for the US, including the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators, scheduled for release at 14:00 GMT. Analysts think we’ll see a modest increase for the March reading on this widely followed benchmark of the US business cycle. In addition, keep an eye on the day’s other key numbers: UK retail sales, US jobless claims and the new estimate for the Philadelphia Fed Index. UK Retail Sales (08:30 GMT): Yesterday’s employment report was a mixed bag. A bigger-than-expected drop in the claimant count was encouraging, but it was marred by a slight rise in the ... (full story)