Global Factory Slump, Nafta 2.0, World's Worst Traffic: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Tuesday, Asia. Here’s the latest news from Bloomberg Economics:

• Factory activity plunged from Asia to Europe in September, reflecting how few countries are left unaffected by a U.S.-led trade shake-up
• For the economies of North America, the best part of the new Nafta is merely the fact that it exists
• Below Jakarta’s traffic-choked streets, workers are rushing to put the finishing touches on the city’s first underground rail line in time to give Indonesian President Joko Widodo an election boost
• Italian Finance Minister Giovanni Tria’s effort to promote his government’s new fiscal strategy ended in failure, with the head of the European Commission warning of a Greek-style crisis
• Two former Federal Reserve officials recommended that future quantitative-easing operations follow a more predictable system similar to the way the central bank lowers its policy interest rate
• A tycoon turned politician who opposes Thailand’s military government has criticized its $5.6 billion high-speed rail project with China because hyperloop technology offers a more modern alternative

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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