British Jobs, Hungary’s Rates, China’s Central Bank: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast.

Welcome to Tuesday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the week.

• Two numbers might sum up the immediate challenge for the U.K. economy: 1 million job vacancies and almost 2 million people who have lost their job during the pandemic, left the workforce or are on furlough
• Hungary will probably raise interest rates for the third time in as many months as policy makers continue their campaign to stem one of the European Union’s highest inflation rates
• Bloomberg Economics says a weak, unsteady recovery in consumption is holding back China’s economy -- but the problem isn’t a lack of money to spend, it’s caution
• U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is maneuvering to resolve a showdown with a group of moderate Democrats that threatened to derail her strategy for shepherding President Joe Biden’s economic agenda through Congress
• A surge in Covid-19 infections in Malaysia threatens to aggravate shortages of semiconductors and other components that have hammered automakers for months
• Ships have resumed berthing operations at a halted container terminal in Ningbo, China, adding to optimism that full activity at one of the world’s busiest ports will be restored shortly after a two-week shutdown
• China’s central bank chief vowed to stabilize the supply of credit and boost the amount of money supporting smaller businesses and the real economy
• The Taliban appointed an obscure official as acting central bank governor as signs emerge of a financial crunch in Afghanistan
• Bank Indonesia is set to throw the government a $31 billion lifeline by extending its bond-buying program through next year to help finance the budget deficit
• El Salvador began installing Bitcoin ATMs, allowing its citizens to convert the cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars and withdraw it in cash as part of a government plan to make the token legal tender

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.