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China Woes Go Global, Japan’s Slump, U.K. in Disarray: Eco Day

China Woes Go Global, Japan’s Slump, U.K. in Disarray: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Friday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get you through to the weekend:

  • Will a virus-induced slowdown in China’s growth mean a stall elsewhere? At least in the first quarter, almost certainly yes, writes Tom Orlik, who draws on a large-scale model of the global economy, to see where spillovers might be greatest
  • Japan’s economy likely suffered its biggest contraction since 2014 at the end of last year, leaving it vulnerable as fallout from China’s viral outbreak threatens to turn a one-quarter-slump into recession
  • The U.K.’s economic policy was thrown into disarray after Sajid Javid dramatically quit as Chancellor of the Exchequer following a row with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
  • The effects of the coronavirus epidemic on the global tourism industry are accelerating rapidly and could carry into 2021
  • The Fed may be able to free up a lot of cash for trading in the short-term money markets with tweaks to banks’ liquidity stress tests, Chairman Jerome Powell said
  • Meantime, President Donald Trump’s pick for the Fed board, Judy Shelton, came under fire from Republican lawmakers, signaling trouble ahead for her nomination
  • European weak economic growth is set to continue this year, the bloc’s executive said, warning that a deadly viral outbreak could further damp the outlook
  • Norway’s central bank governor warned politicians against meddling too much with the country’s massive sovereign wealth fund and of overspending its oil wealth
  • Thailand is scaling back production forecasts for key agricultural commodities because of a drought, dealing a further blow to the country’s struggling economy
  • Argentina extended the world’s deepest series of interest rate cuts as it prioritizes reviving growth over curbing inflation
  • Up in Mexico, the central bank cut its key rate for a fifth time, saying that economic growth is likely to be slower than forecast
  • The African Development Bank said the criticism that World Bank President David Malpass levied against the lender and similar institutions that debt is approved too easily were misleading
  • As the number of coronavirus cases jumps dramatically in China, a top infectious-disease scientist warns that things could get far worse: Two-thirds of the world’s population could catch it

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Jackson at pjackson53@bloomberg.net, Alexandra Veroude

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