Yen Surge in Offing, Uncertainty Soars, Fed Rate Regret: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Tuesday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• The yen could strengthen to 95 against the dollar in the first half of the year and the Bank of Japan would likely have to respond even if it couldn’t do much about it, a former BOJ official said
• Chatter surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the government shutdown and tax policies are making Americans nervous. And the rest of the world feels uneasy too
• The U.S. economy could have recovered faster from the Great Recession if the central bank had followed some of its global peers by cutting interest rates below zero, the San Francisco Fed says
• Australia’s central bank could shift its policy stance to neutral when the board convenes today for its first policy meeting of the year, says Tamara Henderson
• Italy’s populist leaders have made a lot of promises, but their most ambitious pledge -- to provide disadvantaged citizens with a state-sponsored income -- could soon become a reality
• Vancouver home prices fell the most in almost six years, and that may be just the tip of the iceberg, while a one-year slide in Canadian consumer confidence showed little sign of improving in January

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