Nafta Talks, French Patience, Central Bank Profits: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Good Thursday morning, Americas. Here’s the latest news from Bloomberg Economics:

• Talks to update Nafta are edging toward their next deadline with signs of optimism from President Donald Trump and other key figures, as the U.S. and Canada push to resolve enough differences to trigger a countdown to sign a new deal
  • Here’s what a year of Nafta talks looks like
• China urged the Trump administration to back away from imposing new tariffs on another $200 billion tranche of its goods, as the end of a formal comment period on the measures nears
  • Agriculture, one of the few areas of the U.S. economy that sells more abroad than it buys, will see its trade surplus shrink next year as shipments to China collapse amid a trade war between the two nations
• Bloomberg Economics’ Tom Orlik examines the trade outlook in three ways -- none of them are good
• The International Monetary Fund said it will consider Argentina’s request to speed up disbursements from a $50 billion credit line as the government seeks to restore investor confidence
• Euro-area economic confidence continued its slide in August as risks from trade tensions to politics weigh on momentum
• German unemployment extended its five-year slide, suggesting companies in Europe’s largest economy are confident in the outlook despite recently emerged risks
• Essential spending gobbles up the lion’s share of Britons’ monthly income, leaving many with barely any money for other things
  • British consumers pared their borrowing in July as the Bank of England prepared to increase interest rates
• French Labor Minister Muriel Penicaud appealed to businesses and workers to give President Emmanuel Macron’s various labor overhauls time take effect and lower unemployment
• Tunisia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.75 percent, as annual inflation eased slightly from 25-year highs and the pace of economic growth accelerated
• There are good reasons why central banks should think about profit as well as monetary policy, according to a new study
• While Asia proved to be relatively stable through the Turkey-led emerging market sell-off this month, the region has its own vulnerabilities

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, Marco Bertacche

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