Powell’s Soft Landing, Erasing Student Debt, USMCA Deal: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

Welcome to Tuesday Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

• As he approaches his third year as Fed chairman, Jerome Powell is again sounding confident that the economy and monetary policy are in a good place, calibrated to help extend the record-long U.S. economic expansion
• The U.S. is unlikely to impose extra tariffs on a new $160 billion swath of Chinese goods including toys and smartphones come Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said
• In ancient Babylon, a newly enthroned king would declare a jubilee, wiping out the population’s debts. In modern America, a faint echo of that idea -- call it jubilee-lite -- is catching on
• President Donald Trump’s administration plans to sign off on adjustments to a free-trade deal with Mexico and Canada on Tuesday, easing the path for a vote in the House of Representatives as soon as next week
• Canadians are nervous the nation’s economy is veering toward a recession next year
• A trillion-dollar U.S. fiscal deficit in 2019 against a backdrop of record-low unemployment and above-potential growth has rung surprisingly few alarm bells. Going forward, that sense of security is set to face some challenges, according to Bloomberg Economics’s Andrew Husby

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

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