ECB Review Welcomed, U.K. Fiscal Break, Food Prices: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

Welcome to Thursday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau welcomed a planned policy review at the European Central Bank and said its first priority should be clarifying the inflation goal. That comes as euro-area inflation has fallen back below 1% in the last couple of months, driven by large negative contributions from energy prices
• U.K. Chancellor Sajid Javid and his opposition rival John McDonnell are on course to break fiscal rules they announced less than a month ago
• Switzerland is pressing ahead with plans to eliminate import tariffs on industrial goods, a bid to combat the country’s high prices
• During five years as European Union trade chief, Cecilia Malmstrom reached deals to expand more than 295 billion euros ($325 billion) of the bloc’s commerce with the rest of the world -- no small feat amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist challenge. Now she’s stepping down.
• Global trade will shrink through the end of the year as countries around the world continue to grapple with a manufacturing-led slowdown, according to a fresh reading of an index from freight giant DHL
• The fortunes of Italy’s debt have been transformed this year, with the benchmark 10-year yield headed for its biggest annual drop since 2014, even leading to talk among analysts that it could touch 0% next year
• Food prices are climbing fast in the biggest emerging markets, posing a possible inflation threat after months of dormant pressures
• The U.S. economy expanded “modestly” through mid-November amid steady consumer spending and some brighter signs from manufacturers, the Fed’s Beige Book survey showed

To contact the reporter on this story: Anirban Nag in Mumbai at anag8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Michael S. Arnold

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