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Powell Seeks Support, Unspent Stimulus, Indonesia Slump: Eco Day

Powell Seeks Support, Unspent Stimulus, Indonesia Slump: Eco Day

Welcome to Wednesday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day.

  • Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy has a long way to go before fully recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. The testimony highlighted the extent to which new legislation would help to limit lasting damage, writes Andrew Husby
  • China’s government has amassed trillions of yuan in unspent money, handing it fiscal power to stimulate its economic recovery
  • Jakarta’s return to stricter social-distancing measures has dashed hopes that consumption will recover soon, tipping Indonesia’s economy closer to a recession
  • The yuan is curbing the dollar’s dominance in driving price action among Group-of-10 currencies
  • India’s lower house of parliament approved a set of long overdue labor legislations that aim to attract investment
  • America’s network for moving goods into and around the country is the busiest in years after being throttled by the pandemic
  • The U.S. central bank’s new guidance on interest rates doesn’t preclude tightening before inflation averages 2% for some period of time, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said
  • Thailand’s cabinet backed several stimulus measures worth a combined budget of 70 billion baht ($2.2 billion) to boost consumption and jobs. The central bank, meantime, is set to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at an all-time low Wednesday
  • The Bank of England isn’t close to negative interest rates despite the resurgence of the coronavirus, Governor Andrew Bailey says
  • Brazil’s central bank is trying to convince skeptical traders that the benchmark interest rate will remain at the current record low
  • The deal removing tariffs on American lobster exports to the EU last month might well give President Donald Trump bragging rights to the smallest U.S. trade deal in history. But don’t tell that to Irish crystal maker Ronan Daly, who’s hoping it’ll be big for him
  • The case for the ECB to add monetary stimulus gained momentum, with Executive Board Member Fabio Panetta saying policy makers should err on the side of doing more. Meantime, the bank will start accepting bonds linked to environmental goals as part of President Christine Lagarde’s drive to press ahead with a green agenda
  • Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding the line against security hawks in Berlin to prevent a formal ban on China’s Huawei

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