Five Fed Mysteries, Korean Chasm, Argentina Sits at 40%: Eco Day

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

• Five Fed mysteries. Jerome Powell’s press conference could shed light on topics from a red-hot labor market to EM turmoil. Carl Riccadonna says a hike is baked in and all eyes are on signals for future policy
• Gold rush. Geoffrey See teaches entrepreneurship to North Koreans and says the hermit kingdom’s vast potential is matched by high risks. Amid the hoopla of yesterday’s summit, the prospect of unification remains distant and daunting
• Ouch. Argentina held its key interest rate at 40 percent and signaled it would stay high until inflation starts to cool. Meanwhile, BlackRock reckons political risks shouldn’t deter investors from emerging markets
• Breakout? U.S. inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in more than six years, while the budget deficit blew out to the widest since the depths of the global recession. Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital says a soaring deficit amid rising rates may set the stage for trouble
• Trump aide Peter Navarro apologized for suggesting Canada’s Justin Trudeau deserved a “special place in hell,” while Germany’s Angela Merkel pointed out the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Europe when services are included, in a riposte to Trump
• Old foe turns friend. Asian central bankers grappling with wobbly markets, higher energy costs and simmering trade tensions are getting relief from a former arch enemy: food prices
• Mario Draghi is staying deliberately vague on the ECB’s bond-buying program, learning a lesson from the experiences of the Fed and BOE
• Glass ceilings are holding back gay men, a wrap of research shows

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Chris Bourke

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