Trump's Next Trade Fight, China Stimulus, U.S. Jobless: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Happy Friday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• Japan is finally stepping into the ring for a fight it had managed to dodge for more than two years: Bilateral trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump
• A $300 million plan to turn a country town famous for fine porcelain into a major tourist destination gives clues as to how China’s new approach to stimulus works in reality
• Federal Reserve officials are spelling out that there are high hurdles to raising interest rates while inflation continues to undershoot their 2 percent target and risks to the economy abound
• A rebound in oil prices poses a risk to India’s benign inflation expectations that last week allowed the central bank to deliver its second rate cut of 2019
• Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped, falling to the lowest level since October 1969 and suggesting little sign of cooling in a tight labor market
• New World Bank President David Malpass said he’ll pursue a “constructive” relationship with China as the development lender reduces funding to the world’s second-largest economy
• Stephen Moore, a proposed nominee for the Federal Reserve, said he’s planning to challenge the belief inside the U.S. central bank that growth causes inflation

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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