Trump Slams Fed Hikes, Car Tariff Warning, Yuan Tumbles: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Happy Friday, Asia. Here’s news from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• What independence? President Trump criticized the Fed’s interest-rate increases, breaking with more than two decades of White House tradition of no comment on monetary policy. Ironically, Trump’s broadside could see him getting exactly what he doesn’t want: higher rates
• Easy to win. Trump is being warned that tariffs on car imports would hurt the U.S. economy and widen the rift between America and its allies
• This chart shows how the yuan is under pressure as signs of intervention fail to materialize; the turmoil spurred by the currency’s tumble is putting traders on alert
• Doubling down. The Republican-led Senate signaled unease with Trump’s shifting policies toward Russia as the White House announced Vladimir Putin has been invited to Washington; Trump’s top spy chief says “I don’t know what happened” during the leaders’ one-on-one meeting in Helsinki; Putin told Russian diplomats he proposed to Trump to hold a referendum to help resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine
• To tackle entrenched wealth inequality, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing a controversial constitutional change to adopt a U.S.-style federal structure
• A weak currency is good for exports -- in India’s case, it’s not so simple. Meanwhile, the era of coalition politics is back
• Trump’s election was no fluke and protectionism is no fad -- they reflect deep-seated trauma brought on by the U.S.’s relative decline to China, argues this former foreign minister and long-time observer of American politics

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