Trump’s Fed Jabs, Global Labor Supply, Canada Tightens: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Thursday, Asia. Here’s the latest news from Bloomberg Economics:

• President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, saying he “maybe” regrets appointing him -- here’s a timeline of the jabs aimed at Powell over his gradual rate hikes
• In the event of a market meltdown, Trump’s criticism could come to complicate the Fed’s response. Traders have meanwhile trimmed bets on 2019 hikes amid the tumble in stocks
• Tom Orlik runs his ruler over changes in demand in the labor market and finds high-skilled workers in developed nations face stiff competition
• The Bank of Canada pressed ahead with a fresh rate hike and acknowledged for the first time in more than a decade it expects to completely remove monetary stimulus, prompting a jump in the currency
• Geopolitical storm clouds are no longer gathering over Turkey’s monetary policy, setting the scene for a rare rate pause. In Argentina, a widening inflation gap is raising doubts about demand as protesters clashed with police ahead of the 2019 budget vote
• While the U.K. still hasn’t hammered out its exit from the EU, a dwindling flow of workers into Britain offers hope to Europe’s labor-starved east
• The European Central Bank is starting to consider whether the financial crisis changed forever the way it controls rates
• Central banks are set to increase their purchases of gold in 2018 for the first time in five years as eastern European and Asian countries seek to diversify their reserves
• On Trump and Powell, Paul Volcker knows a thing or two about presidents trying to pressure the Fed over policy. Here’s a QuickTake on why central banks have suddenly become political punching bags
• While the U.S. economy is going gangbusters, housing is failing to keep pace. Scott Lanman digs into the details in this podcast
• Finally, here’s how to travel China’s new $800 billion Silk Road

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, Chris Bourke

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