Fed’s Pivot, ECB Inflation Forecasts, China Slowdown: Eco Day

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Welcome to Wednesday, Europe.  Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day.

• Federal Reserve policy makers are poised to accelerate their removal of monetary stimulus as a step toward the first interest-rate increases since 2018 as they pivot to restraining the hottest inflation in almost 40 years
• The European Central Bank’s new projections show inflation below the 2% target in both 2023 and 2024, according to officials familiar with the matter
• The Swiss National Bank’s long-standing claim that the franc is “highly valued” is looking harder to justify as officials watch it strengthen to within striking distance of parity with the euro. How officials describe the franc will feature in their decision on Thursday
  • Meantime, SNB watchers are aiming to rekindle debate over sovereign wealth fund
• China’s economy slowed further in November, dragged down by a worsening property market slump and disruptions from repeated Covid outbreaks, which undercut consumer spending
• The U.S. Senate voted to raise the nation’s debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, an amount intended to extend the government’s borrowing authority until early 2023
• The Bank of Japan is taking a stealthier approach than its peers to winding back pandemic stimulus without rattling markets
• Everyone from traders to farmers is trying to figure out what La Nina means for global food production. But there are also potentially price-altering implications for industrial metals
• The soaring costs and staffing shortages plaguing the U.K.’s food-supply chain show little sign of ebbing next year, industry groups warned
• Hungary plans to narrow its budget shortfall more than planned next year, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said, in the latest sign of a fiscal pivot after record pre-election spending

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