Global FX TESTING DATA:

• • • Asian markets
      
      

      Asian shares shrugged off a lackluster start and pushed higher, while the dollar edged up as investors priced in more U.S. rate hikes after upbeat economic data.

    • GOLD
      
      
      Gold prices were little changed on Thursday after upbeat U.S. economic data bolstered the prospects of interest rate increases next month and beyond by the Federal Reserve.
       
    • OIL
      
      Oil markets were stable on Thursday as rising U.S. crude production and inventories were countered by expectations that OPEC will extend an ongoing production cut during a meeting at the end of this month.

    • NEW ZEALAND
      
      New Zealand’s finance minister said on Friday the country’s next central bank governor must be willing to adopt his government’s plan to include employment in the bank’s mandate, and he was willing to reject any candidate who was not the “right person”.

    • AUSTRALIA
      
      Australian employment rose for a 13th straight month in October, the longest stretch of gains since the early 1990s, while the jobless rate dipped to its lowest in over 4-1/2 years.
       
    • US
      
      The U.S. Justice Department has approached 18 state attorneys general to try to win their support for an antitrust lawsuit to block pay TV and wireless powerhouse AT&T Inc’s $85.4 billion deal to buy media and entertainment company Time Warner Inc.
      
       
    • WADA
      
      The World Anti-Doping Agency said on Thursday that Russia remains “non-compliant”, dealing a blow to its hopes of being cleared for February’s Winter Olympics.WADA’s Foundation Board, currently meeting in Seoul, had approved the recommendation of the Independent Compliance Review Committee
       
    • SOUTH KOREA
      
      Foreign currency deposits in South Korean banks at end-October rose briskly from September, posting the biggest-ever monthly jump as exporters lifted their dollar holdings.Total foreign exchange deposits increased by $9.62 billion to $73.28 billion as of end-October from $63.66 billion in September.
       
    • PHILIPPINE
      
      The Philippine economy is not yet at risk of overheating, the central bank governor said on Thursday, after data showed gross domestic product grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the third quarter, outpacing China.
       
    • COMBODIA
      
      Cambodia’s Supreme Court on Thursday began its final session to decide whether to dissolve the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), thus ensuring victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party in next year’s general election.
       
    • PAKISTAN
      
      Crammed into buses and mini-vans, more than 10,000 Pakistanis travelled to a mosque on the outskirts of the small Punjabi town of Rabwah, for the sole purpose of denouncing followers of the minority sect based here as “infidels and enemies of the state”.
       
    • NORTH CALIFORNIA
      
      The death toll in a shooting spree in rural Northern California rose to five after police discovered the body of the gunman’s wife hidden in the couple’s house.The body of the wife of the gunman, Kevin Neal, was discovered late on Tuesday, hidden under a hole in the floor
       
    • CHINA
      
      China’s financial sector faces bubble risks, a government official warned on Thursday and said a property tax may be on the cards in the near future as authorities extended their efforts to reduce a worrisome build-up of debt in the economy.