Fed to Keep Rates Steady, U.K. Houses, China Risks: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

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

• The Federal Reserve is all but certain to keep interest rates steady following December forecasts that showed no change in 2020, and is expected to reinforce the signal that policy is on hold
• U.K. house prices jumped the most in more than a year in January, according to Nationwide Building Society, reinforcing perceptions that the economy is gradually recovering after Boris Johnson’s election victory
• Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will get Germany’s highest honor this week, though probably not its undying love
  • Meanwhile, the ECB’s former vice president has weighed into the institution’s review of its inflation target, saying two of the key ideas on the table don’t stand up to scrutiny
• As the economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus and China’s efforts to stem its spread becomes clearer, Nomura expects the blow to growth could exceed that seen during the SARS outbreak of 2003
  • What’s more, the early impact of the pandemic is likely to weigh on China’s January PMIs, writes Bloomberg Economics’ Chang Shu
• Australia’s headline inflation outpaced economists estimates in the final three months of 2019, advancing at the fastest quarterly pace in three years as oil gained and drought bumped up food prices
• Concern at the Bank of Japan over the effectiveness of prolonged low interest rates appears to be growing, with one board member indicating that a policy review may be needed, a summary of views from the central bank’s January meeting signaled

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

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