Overshot tool is deployed from onboard the Transocean Discoverer Inspiration in the Gulf of Mexico, July 10, 2010

British oil giant BP is temporarily allowing oil pour out of a second pipe on its untested new cap as part of preparations for closing all the valves to see if the leak from the stricken Mocondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, can at last be stopped.

Overnight, engineers using remotely operated submersibles replaced equipment on the tight-sealing cap at the top of well, 5,000 feet under water, said Kent Wells, a senior vice president of the company. On Tuesday, the government had asked BP to delay the test for 24 hours while scientists reviewed the procedures. Officials were worried about the possibility that the test itself might damage the well and cause a bigger leak.

BP late Wednesday shut down two of the three valves that control the flow of oil through the cap. But a leak discovered in a pipe overnight required a fix and the pipe was replaced early Thursday. That sent BP back to the start of preparing for the test, including the  reopening one of the two closed valves.

On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform, killed 11 rig workers and triggered the worst oil spill in US history.

US jobless benefit claims: The US Department of Labor reported that in the week ending July 10th, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 429,000, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 458,000. The 4-week moving average was 455,250, a decrease of 11,750 from the previous week's revised average of 467,000.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 3 was 4,681,000, an increase of 247,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,434,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,581,250, an increase of 22,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,559,250.

The producer price index for finished goods fell 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, the Labor Department said today. That followed unrevised declines of 0.3% in May and 0.1% in April.

The European Commission has approved the Bank of Ireland’s restructuring program. Danny McCoy, director general of IBEC, told CNBC how stable he thinks the Irish recovery is:

US Financial Reform: Sweeping financial-overhaul legislation cleared its final procedural hurdle today, on the way to President Barack Obama's desk, setting the stage for the Senate to give its final approval to the measure.

US Industrial Production: The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that industrial production edged up 0.1% in June after having risen 1.3% in May. The rate of change for March was revised up, and the rate of change for April was revised down; these revisions resulted primarily from the incorporation of new information on the output of utilities.

For the second quarter as a whole, total industrial production increased at an annual rate of 6.6%. Manufacturing output moved down 0.4% in June after three months of gains at or near 1%. The output of mines rose 0.4%. The output of utilities increased 2.7%, as temperatures moved further above seasonal norms. At 92.5% of its 2007 average, total industrial production in June was 8.2% above its year-earlier level.

The capacity utilization rate for total industry remained unchanged in June at 74.1%, a rate 5.9 percentge points above the rate from a year earlier but 6.5%age points below its average from 1972 to 2009.

"Sadly I think the evidence is gathering that the global economy is turning down," Russell Jones from Westpac told CNBC. Jones describes US economic data released Thursday as "troubling":

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