Trade Talks, Europe on Mend, Gender Discrimination: Eco Day

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

• China has offered the U.S. some “very attractive numbers” for purchases of farm goods as part of “dynamic” trade talks, but there are still concerns over areas such as biotechnology, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue
• German industry continued to stumble, suggesting the economy is unlikely to have enjoyed a long-awaited turnaround at the start of 2019. France’s high and rising private debt burden has worried regulators enough that they are forcing banks to put aside more capital. Europe’s economy hasn’t given investors much cheer over the past year, but some see positive surprises in store
• Almost half of female economists have experienced gender discrimination, according to an American Economic Association survey that also included reports of assault and harassment
• Princeton University economist Alan Krueger, who served as chairman of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and was one of the profession’s top experts on the labor market, has died at the age of 58
• Sentiment among U.S. homebuilders held steady in March, sustaining a rebound from a recent three-year low on improvement in sales and a brighter outlook for the next six months
• Canada’s next budget will look very familiar, with Justin Trudeau set to spend much of a revenue windfall and continued red ink in his government’s books.

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, Matthew Brockett

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