Delta Force Hits GDP, Fed Taper Talk, Yellen Debt Alert: Eco Day

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

• The latest nowcast readings from Bloomberg Economics show the combined impact of the delta outbreak and supply chain snarl ups starting to take a toll, with a downgrade to expectations for 3Q growth in the U.S., China and elsewhere
• “It could be appropriate” for the U.S. central bank to begin tapering its bond-buying program before the year is out, New York Fed President John Williams said. The Fed said U.S. economic growth downshifted slightly to a moderate pace in early July through August
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s team doesn’t see prioritizing payments to creditors as an option should the U.S. government exhaust its traditional measures to avoid a default
• One of the Fed’s largest internal critics of the risks in U.S. real estate was an active investor in the sector last year
• Hong Kong’s recovery remains slow but reinforcements are on the horizon, according to Bloomberg Economics
• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he thinks a minimum criteria for tighter U.K. monetary policy has been met
• Malaysia is set to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low
• Two lawmakers battling to become Japan’s next prime minister both pledged to launch stimulus packages over the short term and to defeat deflation over the longer term
• A quantum leap in digital adoption and high-skilled exports have emerged as the newest drivers of economic growth and jobs in India
• The Bank of Canada expressed optimism about the prospects of a strong recovery later this year despite a run of weak data
• Diverging inflation trends mean the ECB isn’t in the same position as its U.S. counterpart, former President Jean-Claude Trichet says
• Indonesian consumers were the most pessimistic in 16 years
• Brazil’s central bank will need to “act fast” to prevent a further deterioration of the country’s inflation expectations
• Latin American governments need to address a brewing jobs crisis for young workers that further risks the region’s fragile stability
• Bloomberg Economics is lowering its forecast for third-quarter U.S. growth to a 5% annualized rate from a previous estimate of 7%
• With more than half of Australia’s population in lockdown, tight rules on movement and state border closures are posing serious challenges for the A$66 billion ($49 billion) agriculture industry
• Some of the world’s biggest economies are seeing oil consumption turn the corner and even surpass pre-pandemic levels

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