Deflation Alarm, Globalization Alive, France Warning: Eco Day

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

• When the coronavirus hit Europe this year, Manuel Vegas asked his Spanish association of hotel directors to avoid cutting room costs by more than 25%. Instead, they plunged as much as 60%, and he reckons “we won’t get back to 2019 prices until at least 2023
• The pandemic was supposed to put the final nail in the coffin of globalization and prompt a retreat into a new era of protectionism. Instead, some are now calling the crisis the Great Accelerator
• France warned it could veto a trade deal between the U.K. and the European Union if it doesn’t like the terms, piling pressure on the EU not to make further concessions as talks build to a climax
• A transatlantic alliance fractured by Donald Trump’s unilateral trade policies appeared headed for repair as both President-elect Joe Bidenand Europe signaled an urgency to rejoin a united front against China’s ascendancy in the global economy
• Here’s our podcast on what Bidenomics could look like
• The Federal Reserve is in no hurry to taper its massive bond buying program, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday, though he didn’t signal that the U.S. central bank was ready to ramp it up either
• ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said he will continue calling banks and investors after policy decisions, defending his controversial approach
• Fed’s latest Beige Book pointed to waning optimism on economic growth, writes Bloomberg Economics’ Eliza Winger and Yelena Shulyatyeva

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