Trump-Xi Deal Delay, BOE, Czech Rate Decisions: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

Welcome to Thursday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• The Bank of England will probably keep interest rates on hold and cut its growth and inflation forecasts as Brexit questions continue to plague the economy
• One of the last central banks in Europe still thinking about lifting interest rates looks likely to take a rain check after all. The vote on Thursday will probably leave Czech benchmark at 2% because of economic headwinds coming from trading partners
• When Christine Lagarde tries to work out why the European Central Bank can’t hit its inflation goal, she might need to look at the measure itself
  • ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann signaled that monetary policy has reached its limit, and argued it’s time for fiscal stimulus to step in
• President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may not be able to sign a partial trade deal until December, and two U.S. locations have been ruled out for their highly anticipated meeting
• China sentenced three nationals to maximum punishments for smuggling fentanyl to the U.S., in one of its highest-profile moves yet against the illicit flow of opioids that Trump has made a bone of contention in broader trade talks
• Productivity in the U.S. unexpectedly posted the first decline in almost four years and labor costs accelerated, suggesting a pickup in efficiency earlier this year was more of a temporary shift. The culprit appears to have been gig economy workers, writes Carl Riccadonna
• Hong Kong’s leaders are trying to prop up the deteriorating economy with fiscal spending. The problem is they’re doing it on the cheap
• South Korea is the land of foldable phones, K-pop and beauty creams. But somehow its best and brightest are missing out on the hottest innovation trends, writes Shuli Ren

To contact the reporter on this story: Jiyeun Lee in Hong Kong at jlee1029@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Karthikeyan Sundaram

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