China Trade Action, Fed Dilemma, Italy Recession Risk: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• China swung into action to start delivering on the trade commitments that led to its weekend truce with the U.S. Still, there are several lingering questions on what actually was agreed and how much some tweets might be bluster over substance
• The Federal Open Market Committee is facing a dilemma as it prepares a likely interest rate increase in two weeks -- the American job market looks hot, but some parts of the economy do not
• To emphasize the point, investors primed for moderation in the U.S. labor market may be surprised by the strength of November’s jobs report
• The euro area is showing no signs of a meaningful economic rebound as momentum in the 19-nation region is at the weakest level in more than two years, and as trade and political uncertainty drag confidence lower
• Meanwhile, Italy’s populist government has a new problem brewing as it faces up to the risk that it could soon be dealing with the country’s first recession in five years
• The U.K. was also hit by bad economic news today, with a report showing the dominant services industry unexpectedly slowed to the weakest since the aftermath of the Brexit vote
• Argentina cleared a key hurdle to an IMF deal as inflation expectations improved for a second month, allowing the central bank to lower the world’s highest interest rates
• Australians’ reluctance to spend in the midst of a property slump is dragging on economic growth, with quarterly GDP the slowest in two years
• Finally, here’s a QuickTake on why China’s ‘have another baby’ pleas could be too late

To contact the reporter on this story: David Goodman in London at dgoodman28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net

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