Fed Virus Alert, Shattered Indian Dreams, Germany Lifts: Eco Day

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

• Fed chief Jerome Powell said the outbreak of the coronavirus will likely hit the Chinese economy and could spill wider after keeping interest rates on hold. Bloomberg’s team of economists have analyzed the U.S. central bank’s latest statements
• The WHO called a meeting of its Emergency Committee Thursday to consider issuing a global alarm after cases in China surpassed the official number of SARS infections in the country
• Wish Town was once a sought-after destination for India’s aspiring middle classes seeking a slice of the “good days” promised by an ambitious Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he swept to power more than five years ago. Now, it’s a symbol of lost hope
• Germany’s government raised its growth projection for this year and pledged investment to keep Europe’s largest economy competitive as it turns more digital and climate-aware, and its population ages
• The ECB aims to reach a consensus on the future of its inflation goal in the first half of this year, according to Governing Council member Peter Kazimir
• On the surface, U.S. economic growth last quarter is projected to look decent and little changed from the prior period. But the main figure could mask a misfire in the economy’s chief engine: the consumer
• The Fed is likely to join a group of global peers that was established to combat climate change and improve understanding of the threat it poses to economies, Powell said
• Brazil ended 2019 with the strongest budget result in five years, but its goal of lowering the debt burden is at least three years away and ridden with uncertainty
• Chile kept its benchmark rate unchanged as the worst social unrest in decades clouds the outlook for economic growth and saps demand for the peso
• South Africa’s government will tell President Donald Trump’s administration that its review of a preferential trade agreement that could put as much as $2.4 billion in exports at risk is premature and potentially damaging for both economies
• Saudi Arabia plans to use a new solar technology to desalinate seawater at Neom, a mega-city that it’s developing along the country’s northern Red Sea coast
• Finally, don’t miss this week’s episode of the Stephanomics podcast

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, Michael Heath

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