China’s Economic Goals, Zombie Recovery, Negative Rates: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Wednesday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

• China’s leaders are likely to convene this week to lay out their economic priorities for 2021, with an expected renewed focus on slowing debt growth and insulating the economy from U.S. tensions
• This was supposed to have been a good year for zombies, writes Shawn Donnan, instead they’ve turned into another victim of a pandemic that has upended lives around the world
• At the height of Covid, it seemed only a matter of time before negative interest rates ruled global markets. Not any more
• Iron ore’s dizzying demand surge has made it the world’s best performing commodity this year, and prices could stay elevated for months to come -- in a boon for Australia and a frustration for China
• Bloomberg Economics does not expect the Fed to lean further on policy-accommodation levers at the December meeting, but the risks are tilting in that direction in the near term, writes Carl Riccadonna
• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has put virus containment ahead of the economy by temporarily halting a nationwide travel campaign aimed at spurring spending among the elderly
• U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India in January to try to boost ties, with talks on a free-trade agreement due to start soon
• Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has survived his latest leadership test after lawmakers approved his 2021 budget
• Saudi Arabia said its spending plans for next year would be expansionary, as it leans more heavily on government-controlled funds to make up for cuts to a finance ministry budget battered by a decline in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic
• European regulators lifted their de facto ban on bank dividends while imposing strict limits on payout levels to help lenders maintain financial strength during the pandemic
• When the time comes to consider an incredible year’s financial winners and losers, spare a thought for bond investors in safe-haven Japan, the only ones in the world to lose money
• Central banks are voicing support for fighting climate change but most are making scant progress on adjusting their monetary policies
• Around the world, neighborhoods are being reshaped as Covid-19 leaves businesses struggling for survival. But one Hong Kong district has flourished in the pandemic

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