Europe Awakens, Climate Pandering, ‘Leveling Up’ Agenda: Eco Day

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

• Europe is waking up from the pandemic with cafes in Paris, gelato vendors in Rome and beer gardens in Bavaria reopening, a major test for the region’s recovery in health and economic terms
• The world’s central banks are yielding to political pressures by emphasizing the risks of climate change when the more obvious threat to financial stability comes from future pandemics, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said
• U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to refocus attention on his “leveling up” agenda as he unveiled plans to modernize Britain’s high streets and moving government officials out of London. He’s also pushing to complete a trade deal with Australia, though British farmers warn that cheaper imports could put them out of business
• Taiwan pledged to keep the world supplied with semiconductors, even as it deals with its worst Covid-19 outbreak
• Ireland will increase a tax on the bulk buying of homes amid outrage over investment funds hoovering up real estate and squeezing out first-time buyers
• President Joe Biden’s administration plans to delay a ban on new U.S. investments in certain Chinese companies by two weeks. Meanwhile, Politico reports that European Union lawmakers will vote to formally halt an investment agreement with China in response to sanctions against members of the bloc
• U.S. housing starts fell by more than forecast, suggesting supply-chain constraints and rising costs continue to hold builders back
• Business groups were unmoved by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s call for U.S. companies to accept higher taxes in return for a huge public investment in infrastructure
• As Bank of England officials consider how to unwind emergency stimulus, markets have made up their minds about the first step
• France urged rich countries to commit to reallocating part of their IMF special drawing rights to Africa
• Bloomberg Economics looks at wage pressure in the U.S. economy as a harbinger of faster inflation
• The powerful vaccine drive in the U.S. has pushed North America’s air-travel comeback past Asia’s for the first time since the Lunar New Year holiday in February

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