Lagarde Supremacy, Depth of Fed Cut, Truce Too Late: Eco Day

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

• Christine Lagarde is set to swap the helm of the IMF for the ECB, becoming the first woman to run euro-area monetary policy just as the bloc’s economy looks in need of fresh stimulus. Her accession is likely to augur a very different style of leadership. Jamie Murray ponders what Lagarde could mean for interest rates and quantitative easing.
  • Here’s a guide to the new leaders of Europe’s key institutions
• The question likely to dominate the run-up to the Fed’s next meeting is will it cut by a quarter-point or twice that?
  • President Donald Trump said he’s planning to nominate Christopher Waller of the St. Louis Fed and Judy Shelton, a director for the EBRD, to serve on the Fed’s Board
• Global trade is starting to exhibit war wounds not even a U.S.-China ceasefire can heal, writes Michelle Jamrisko in ‘Terms of Trade’
• RBA chief Philip Lowe signaled he’ll stand pat in coming months to observe the impact of back-to-back rate cuts, while standing ready to resume easing should the outlook at home or abroad take a turn for the worse.
• India’s first female finance minister in almost five decades, Nirmala Sitharaman, has held a wide range of jobs, but now faces what might become one of the toughest balancing acts of her career.
• As policy makers at the Swedish central bank meet to discuss their next rate decision, they’re already fielding criticism for failing to tighten policy when they had the chance
• The murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi officials in Istanbul was a “state killing” that should prompt world leaders to reconsider having the G-20 summit in Riyadh, the UN expert who investigated the columnist’s death said. It was supposed to be a six-month fling, but Saudi Arabia and Russia have instead signed up for eternity.

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, Jiyeun Lee

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