ECB Decision Day, Fed Aftermath, U.K. Spending Jumps: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning Americas. Here’s news from Bloomberg Economics to help get your Thursday started:

• Mario Draghi and his European Central Bank colleagues are on the verge of announcing the outcome of their first formal talks on when to end their asset purchase program. It’s unclear whether they’ll make a decision today or wait until July, but here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s meeting
• Monetary policy aside, it could get awkward -- host nation Latvia’s finance minister praised the ECB’s “neutral” attitude on corruption accusations against the country’s governor
• After the Federal Reserve’s rate hike, Chairman Jerome Powell signaled growing optimism on the U.S. economy while trying to reassure that the central bank would not derail the country’s second-longest expansion
  • At the same time, Powell left Fed watchers scratching their heads over ever-bigger questions
• U.K. retail sales jumped more than economists forecast in May as warm weather and the Royal Wedding gave stores a much needed boost
• China’s central bank held off from immediately raising borrowing costs following the Fed, just as economic data for May showed that the economy is losing steam
• In Japan, cashed-up grannies splurging on their grandchildren are helping to keep the economy ticking over
• Finally, Czech central bankers are increasingly telegraphing their readiness to resume raising borrowing costs earlier than planned.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.