ECB's Economic Boost, Russian Inflation, British Taxes: Eco Day

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Happy Friday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started and send you into the weekend:

• The European Central Bank will pay banks to lend as it tries to find ways to support economic growth that looks increasingly shaky, according to a survey. And according to James Bianco, the ECB is proving to be bad capitalists
• Taxing news. British workers on higher incomes are the victims of damaging “stealth” tax increases, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies
• Under the lens. With the jury split on when Russia will make its grand return to monetary easing after a tax hike, monthly inflation numbers are being scrutinized even more than normal
• Good talks. China and the U.S. claimed progress in talks to end their trade war, with President Xi Jinping pushing for a rapid conclusion and President Donald Trump talking up prospects for a “monumental” agreement that may still be some weeks away
• Rates illustrated. Federal Reserve officials are pushing back against the notion that the central bank should cut interest rates soon; these charts show how rate hikes are impacting the economy
• A twin thing. The Reserve Bank of India delivered its second successive interest rate cut yesterday and is on course for its most aggressive monetary policy easing in more than three years
• Wait and watch. The Fed and fellow leading central banks are hitting the pause button when it comes to policy -- here’s our latest guide to where rates are going globally
• Delivery due. Trump said Herman Cain, the former pizza company executive who ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, is being vetted for a seat on the Fed’s board
• Sliding. Japanese wages fell unexpectedly in February as the labor ministry adjusted the sample group used to compile the data, muddying the waters for analysts trying to get a handle on the weak state of pay in the economy
• Finally, here’s our weekly roundup of what happened in the world economy

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, Karthikeyan Sundaram, Ashutosh Joshi

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