Powell’s Charm, U.S. SMEs, Macronomics, U.K. Wages, SNB: Eco Day

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

• Jerome Powell is ramping up Federal Reserve communication to build public trust and help insulate it from political attack
• Small businesses were exuberant about the U.S. economy and profits when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Now that sentiment is fading
• U.K. labor-market figures paint a picture of an economy operating at or close to full capacity amid record employment
  • The productivity gap between Britain and other economies is narrower then previously thought, according to research from the OECD
• Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to revive the French economy from a decades-long slumber is fraying at the edges after less than two years of trying
  • Macron has emboldened Italy’s populists in their standoff with the European Union by embarking on a spending spree of his own
• Confidence in the German economy among investors unexpectedly edges higher, suggesting they may be starting to see a way through the current gloom
• Germany’s key machinery sector will produce a record amount this year, but trade disputes, a possible “hard Brexit” and Italy’s budget spat with the European Union will crimp growth in 2019, the VDMA industry association predicted
• Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan might look back on 2018 as a rare moment when the central bank could have unshackled itself from its bigger neighbor
• Turkey posted the highest current-account surplus on record, showing the economy continues to adapt after the lira’s slump earlier this year
• There’s a lot to weigh in the Chinese central bank’s decision on where to take stimulus as the economy slows; here’s our guide
  • China’s broadest measure of new credit exceeded estimates, signaling that a seasonal pickup in lending may have been boosted further by government measures to support companies
• The shock exit of Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has rocked markets as it adds to risks in the South Asian giant, which already is fraught with election uncertainty; ex-official fears that the government might next raid RBI’s capital; here’s a QuickTake to catch up on all the drama and here’s what’s next
• Finally, here’s how Asia fell out of love with China’s Belt and Road Initiative

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Marco Bertacche

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