Party Sanctions, Global Banks Dilemma, Fed’s Shrinkage: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Friday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help take you through to the weekend:

• The U.S. sanctioned a top member of China’s ruling Communist Party and three other officials over human rights abuses in the western province of Xinjiang, an escalation in the increasingly tense rivalry
• Global banks risk being caught between Beijing-backed penalties and sanctions being debated in the U.S. as Hong Kong’s autonomy becomes a volatile point of friction between the two superpowers
• The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet shrank for a fourth week, bringing the total size back below $7 trillion, as emergency loans extended to primary dealers and foreign central banks to shore up dollar liquidity at the depth of the crisis matured
• Singapore heads to the polls Friday as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s ruling party seeks to extend its 55-year rule with a fresh mandate to counter the city-state’s worst-ever recession amid the coronavirus pandemic
• Joe Biden launched his plan on Thursday to revive the economy from the coronavirus-related recession with a promise to “build back better” than what existed before the crisis
• Even with fewer Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week, the labor-market outlook remains bleak. While initial jobless claims fell by the most in a month, they’re still double the highest level during the last recession
• South Korea’s government is preparing new regulations to curb excessive house price gains that have fueled public discontent over inequality and property speculation
• India plans to invite Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise that has so far included just Japan and the U.S., in a move that could risk China’s ire
• The U.S. plans to announce further details in the long-running battle with France over taxes on technology giants. The tariff list to be released will be in the ballpark of $500 million to $700 million in goods, according to two people familiar with the matter
• Australia’s closed international borders are creating a unique opportunity for tourism operators to tap previously inaccessible domestic markets, as long as additional regions aren’t returned into lockdown

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