Japan's Brexit Fears, U.S.-China Talks, Yen in Demand : Eco Day

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

• Japan has a lot riding on Brexit. Few countries are as worried about the prospect of a disorderly exit, given the degree of foreign investment in the U.K., from carmakers Nissan Motor Co. to tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. and fashion brand Uniqlo.
• Progress: U.S.-China trade talks in Beijing are progressing and will continue Wednesday, an American negotiator said. Chinese authorities plan to give a statement following the latest round of negotiations.
• Budget cap: China’s Finance Ministry is set to propose an annual fiscal deficit target of 2.8 percent of GDP for 2019, two people familiar with the discussions said.
• Unwanted strength: There’s a good chance the yen will strengthen to 100 against the dollar in coming months as slowing global growth and U.S.-China trade tensions keep investors on edge, a former senior Bank of Japan official said.
• Calendar change: Mark Carney will take some of the pressure off the next Bank of England governor by keeping the spotlight on himself.
• Troubled regions: Macron is trying to drag France into the era of affirmative action.
• Growth cut: The World Bank cut its forecast for the global economy as slowing growth in trade and investment and rising interest rates sapped momentum, especially in emerging markets.
• Vacancy: Former Federal Reserve economist Nellie Liang withdrew from consideration for a seat on the central bank’s board of governors, the White House said.
• Common refrain: President Donald Trump renewed his complaints about Fed rate hikes, calling borrowing costs “rapidly raised” even though the pace has been markedly slower than in previous decades.
• Downturn: Australian building approvals fell the most in a decade in a further sign that investors are pulling back from the housing market amid a prolonged price slump and tighter lending curbs.

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, Devidutta Tripathy

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