Bernanke’s Boost, Indonesian Limits, Duterte’s Rant: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Monday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

• The U.S. and euro area face daunting economic challenges in a world of low inflation and interest rates, and central banks alone don’t have the tools to cope, Mario Draghi and Janet Yellen told the American Economic Association. Meanwhile, Ben Bernanke said the central bank has enough ammunition to combat a future economic contraction
• Indonesia’s government and central bank are running into policy limits as they try to stimulate Southeast Asia’s largest economy
• Asia’s purchasing managers index data for December were positive, pointing to some stabilization across the region’s manufacturing sector at the turn of the year, writes Chang Shu at Bloomberg Economics
• President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to renegotiate Manila water contracts highlights the elevated regulatory risk in the Philippines compared to other major markets in the region, according to Fitch Solutions
• The Aussie dollar’s surge in December made it a Christmas to forget for funds who had gone short. They will be hoping key data this week help send the currency back down
• Would you give up Facebook for a month for $50? The question may help economists get a better measure of the extent to which new, free technologies are reshaping the economy and our lives, a new paper says
• Japanese firms outspent Chinese rivals for the second year in a row to be the biggest dealmaking force in Asia in 2019, aided by favorable financing and reduced competition in the face of U.S.-China tensions
• India’s Finance Ministry has delivered a challenge to its revenue collectors: meet tax targets despite $20 billion of corporate tax cuts

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael S. Arnold in Singapore at marnold48@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Michelle Jamrisko

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