The Global Disruptor, Trade Battle, Virus Response: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

Good morning, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your week started:

• Donald Trump has spent the past four years lobbing unsolicited advice at Britain on the best path forward for Brexit and holding out promises of a grand new trade alliance. Now that the U.K.’s departure is official, though, Trump gets to really double down on a role he relishes: that of the geopolitical disruptor
  • The U.K. and EU begin their battle over a future trade deal today, setting up 11 months of negotiations that risk ending in economically damaging failure. For the U.K., life outside the bloc will be burdened by economic ills that have gone unresolved for more than a decade
• The slow improvement in global manufacturing could be about to take a pause -- or worse -- as firms brace for supply-chain disruptions and a blow to demand from the spread of the coronavirus
• Chinese officials are evaluating whether the target for economic growth this year should be softened as part of a broader review of how the government’s plans will be affected by the deadly virus outbreak, according to people familiar with the matter
  • China’s central bank took its first concrete steps to cushion the economy, providing short-term funding to banks and cutting the interest rate it charges for the money
  • Thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, working from home is no longer a privilege, it’s a necessity
• Rising labor costs will eventually reignite inflation in the euro zone, and the European Central Bank is on track toward its goal, the institution’s chief economist says
• The EU’s biggest eastern economies have something that’s eluded their western neighbors for some time: a strong dose of inflation. But central banks in the ex-communist region are loathe to raise borrowing costs
• Finally, here’s a story about one ordinary day in an extraordinary global economy

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, David Goodman

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