Demoting Powell, China's Rainbow Economy, `No One Died': Eco Day

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

• The White House explored the legality of demoting Jerome Powell soon after Donald Trump talked about firing him. Stanley Fischer says Trump’s pressure for rate cuts threatens Fed independence
• While markets have gotten used to small Fed adjustments, they might want to be ready for a change. Carl Riccadonna says appeasing FOMC doves may be a waste of firepower
• China’s growing rainbow economy is estimated by state media to be worth $300 billion a year. Meantime, multinationals seeking top expat talent are battling anti-LGBT laws
• Australian central bank chief Philip Lowe was “relatively relaxed” about an error on the new A$50 note that was repeated 400 million times. Meantime, BlackRock is shorting the Aussie dollar on a bet that the RBA will cut to 0.5%
• The U.S. and China said their presidents will meet in Japan next week to relaunch trade talks after a month-long stalemate. China’s growth outlook for the second half and beyond will worsen considerably if the standoff is long-lasting, writes Chang Shu
• To fully grasp Trump’s China strategy, the first step is understanding Robert Lighthizer
• The BOJ is expected to leave its stimulus unchanged Thursday within hours of the Fed’s policy decision, though speculation is growing it will take action later this year. Yuki Masujima reckons the BOJ will steer a steady course for the foreseeable future
• Mario Draghi is set on pushing the limits of ECB firepower right up until he leaves office. Also, Trump accused the euro area and China of weakening their currencies to gain an economic advantage
• Almost one in five Britons living in wage-earning households was in relative poverty in 2017, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies
• Norway’s central bank is set to raise rates again as a boom in oil wealth spending and investments puts Scandinavia’s richest economy at odds with a global economic cooling
• As a top candidate to succeed Mario Draghi as head of the ECB, Jens Weidmann may yet have to grapple with the fallout from Italy’s soft spot for creative currencies

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Chris Bourke

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