U.S. Shutdown Race, Package Vote, China’s Crypto Ban: Eco Day

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Welcome to Friday, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

• U.S. lawmakers in Congress are coming under increasing time pressure as they try to both resolve both the imminent halt to funding for the federal government and progress on President Joe Biden’s economic agenda
  • With deadlines approaching, House Democrats penciled in a rare Saturday committee meeting to prepare the ground for a possible vote next week on the $3.5 trillion package
• The People’s Bank of China has pumped a net 460 billion yuan ($71 billion) of short-term cash into the banking system in the past five working days as policymakers seek to avoid contagion from China Evergrande Group’s problems
  • China’s central bank said all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal and must be banned, sending the strongest signal yet on its determination to crack down on the industry
• The Covid recession pushed more than 2.1 million women aged 25 to 54—those most likely to have young children at home—out of the labor force last year. About half of them have come back, but the rebound has been led by women with a college education. Participation rates for women without a diploma, especially mothers of color, lag far behind
• With central banks from Washington to London this week signaling more alarm over faster inflation, the ultra-stimulative path of the euro zone and some of its neighbors appears lonelier than ever
• Scores of companies in Baja California and other northern Mexican states have managed to stay open throughout the pandemic, while those relying on domestic demand are struggling
• Chile’s government submitted a budget bill to Congress Thursday that will trim spending 22% in 2022, as the South American country moves to scale back the extraordinary stimulus rolled out during the pandemic.

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