Tariffs Kick In, U.S. Jobs Day, U.K. Productivity Hope: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning Americas. Here’s news from Bloomberg Economics to round off your week.

• China has immediately retaliated after U.S. President Donald Trump fired the biggest shot yet in the global trade war by imposing tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports
  • The news comes after the Fed said in minutes of its June meeting released overnight that the trade war is already hurting investment
• The U.S. is set to release its monthly jobs report on Friday. Economists are looking for an increase of about 195,000, according to a Bloomberg survey
• Increasing investment by firms in technology means the U.K.’s abysmal productivity growth should soon start to recover, according to a Bank of England staff blog
  • That came on the day the ONS report U.K. output per hour rose just 0.9 percent in the first quarter -- less than half the pace seen before the financial crisis -- while unit labor costs spiked
• U.K. home prices were broadly flat last month as a shortage of properties kept the market tight, mortgage lender Halifax said in a report Friday
• German industrial production picked up in May, signaling that the economy is beginning to stabilize after a stumble earlier in the year.
• A record-setting slowdown in Russian inflation may be close to running its course, before a rebound that could push it back above the central bank’s target
• As Asian central banks join the race to defend their currencies in the face of escalating trade conflicts and rising U.S. rates, traders are starting to adjust their bets on central bank policy actions

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net

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