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Fed Day, Economists' Written Warning, Euro Area Growth: Eco Day

Fed Day, Economists' Written Warning, Euro Area Growth: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning, Americas. Here’s news from Bloomberg Economics to help get your Wednesday started:

  • It’s Fed decision day, and officials have a tricky problem to navigate at their meeting: how to shape expectations for the pace of future rate increases after inflation just bounced back to their 2 percent target
  • Meanwhile, more than 1,100 economists, including Nobel laureates and former presidential advisers, have signed a letter warning Donald Trump about his tariff-heavy approach to trade
    • Many of its passages quote directly from another letter sent in 1930, cautioning against protectionist measures the U.S. imposed at the start of what became the Great Depression
  • U.S. factories are having too much of a good thing, with surging demand leading to system-wide bottlenecks that are weighing on business and potentially the broader economy
  • Euro-area economic growth slowed to 0.4 percent in the first quarter, posing a challenge for the European Central Bank as it contemplates paring back monetary stimulus measures
    • Still, the moderation in global economic growth appears to be contained, according to a tracker by Goldman Sachs
  • U.K. construction recovered in April as the impact of the previous month’s torrid weather faded, but the rebound was “somewhat underwhelming” according to IHS Markit
    • Even so, the report adds weight to the argument of Bloomberg Economics, which says that the economy’s first-quarter weakness will prove temporary, and sees growth rebounding sharply

To contact the reporter on this story: David Goodman in London at dgoodman28@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Joanna Ossinger

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