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Fresh Cracks in Germany, Soft China Prices, Fed on Hold: Eco Day

Fresh Cracks in Germany, Soft China Prices, Fed on Hold: Eco Day

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

  • Poland’s central bank Governor Adam Glapinski has joined a growing list of east European interest-rate setters entangled in criminal probes. He was questioned by prosecutors last week in relation to bribery allegations.
  • Growing pain: Fresh weakness is emerging in the German economy, which may have shrunk again, note Bloomberg economists Jamie Murray and Maeva Cousin.
  • The woes for U.K. retailers are mounting as new report suggests that 2018 was their worst Christmas since the financial crisis.
  • Deflation worries: China’s factory inflation slowed sharply in December, continuing the slowdown for a sixth straight month to the weakest level since late 2016 on softening demand and lower commodity prices.
  • Piecemeal approach: Chinese policy makers are continuing their efforts to arrest the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, as further details emerged of measures to ensure credit to small businesses and ease their tax burden.
  • Soft landing: China and the U.S. are separately struggling to come in for unparalleled, simultaneous soft landings, an effort complicated by the trade war they’re waging at the same time.
  • What now? With trade talks over, the Trump administration is pushing for a way to make sure China delivers on its commitments in any deal the two nations reach.
  • On hold: U.S. central bankers could place interest rates on hold through March or longer as they wait for clarity on risks to global growth that could affect the economy.
  • Business as usual: In his first trip abroad as Mexico’s finance minister, Carlos Urzua had a message he clearly wanted to deliver to the New York investing community. It was, in essence: Don’t worry, the young administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador understands the laws of economics and isn’t about to try any radical experiments that could jeopardize Mexico’s financial health.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anirban Nag in Mumbai at anag8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Karthikeyan Sundaram, Tuhin Kar

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