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U.K. Deficit, Post-Brexit Trade Deal, Turkey Surprise: Eco Day

U.K. Deficit, Post-Brexit Trade Deal, Turkey Surprise: Eco Day

Welcome to Friday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help take you through to the weekend.

  • U.K. government borrowing soared to 173.7 billion pounds ($222 billion) in the first five months of the fiscal year as the costs of coronavirus pandemic continued to mount
    • U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s latest salvo against the economic chaos of the coronavirus marks a shift in tactics that risks making a painful spike in unemployment inevitable
    • Sales of U.K. homes costing over 1 million pounds doubled last month, outperforming the rest of the market as wealthier buyers sought more space following the Covid-19 lockdown
    • Londoners are looking for jobs outside the capital as the city struggles to generate new work after the coronavirus slump
  • European Union negotiators have agreed not to allow their opposition to Boris Johnson’s plan to break international law distract them from trying to secure a deal over the bloc’s relationship with the U.K. after Brexit

    • Anxiety is kicking in for European executives as time -- and trust -- run short for a trade agreement between the U.K. and EU
  • Russia’s Finance Ministry still hopes to sell a euro-denominated bond before the end of the year, despite a recent surge in market volatility that it expects to continue in the fourth quarter
  • Zambia’s finance minister will have to assure creditors he’s got a plan for the country’s debt and convince the International Monetary Fund the government merits a bailout when he presents his annual budget on Friday
  • The market will need to wait another day to know if Turkey’s surprise interest-rate increase will achieve the intended effect
  • Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s search for a Treasury secretary is widely seen as focusing on Lael Brainard of the Fed, a choice that would keep both Wall Street and progressives in line
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. joined Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists in dropping forecasts for U.S. economic growth in coming months after the failure so far of Republicans and Democrats to seal a fiscal-stimulus deal
  • Mexico’s central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter point, the least since February, in a sign the current monetary easing cycle is nearing its end after inflation sped past its target
  • China’s recovery is on, with growth poised to accelerate into 2021, writes Chang Shu
  • India’s economy showed signs of stabilizing in August. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India will again have a tough choice at Friday’s bond sale: Whether to ask underwriters to rescue the sale or allow higher yields
  • South Korea’s trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, who’s vying to lead the WTO, wants the organization “revitalized” so the U.S. and China can turn to the body to settle their bruising trade disputes
  • Australia will loosen responsible lending laws in a bid to boost the flow of credit and revive the economy from recession
  • House Democrats have started drafting a stimulus proposal of roughly $2.4 trillion
  • The world will officially record 1 million deaths from Covid-19 in the next few days, but the real tally might be almost double that number

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With assistance from Bloomberg