U.S. Shutdown Damage, ECB Rate Decision, German Plunge: Eco Day

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

• America’s government shutdown risks inflicting lasting damage at the agencies that collect, parse and publish the country’s data
• The European Central Bank announces a rate decision -- here’s what to expect and our economists’ preview
• Germany’s industrial slump worsened at the start of 2019, dragging the euro-area economy into its worst performance in more than five years
• We’re not as likely to see a no-deal Brexit as momentum is building for an extension in talks, but economists see a push to the deadline as worse for the U.K. economy than the deal on the table
  • U.K. businesses can’t fully prepare for the chaos of a no-deal Brexit, according to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney
• Norway’s central bank confirmed it’s prepared to raise interest rates again as soon as March, while the Swiss National Bank intends to keep rates at a record low and can even reduce them further if needed
  • The central banks of Korea and Malaysia kept interest rates unchanged
  • Indonesia’s central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo said the benchmark interest rate is near its peak, but he doesn’t see room yet to ease policy

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.