Europe’s Price Choice, Biden Package, Fed’s Message: Eco Day

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

• Europe’s consumer-facing companies face a critical choice for when the pandemic passes: should they exploit the expected pickup in business by raising prices?
• The next phase of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda is fast taking shape, with an economic-recovery package that will potentially far surpass his $1.9 trillion virus-relief plan in size, complexity and overall ambition
• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is likely to emphasize a dovish message to Congress in his first testimony since Democrats took control of the Senate and White House
• China urged the Biden administration to take steps to “build up goodwill,” including removing tariffs and sanctions, as Beijing continued to put the onus on Washington to repair their fractured relationship
• Global manufacturers’ scramble to get hold of scarce semiconductor supplies is driving faster growth in Asia
• Former governor of the Bank of England and Bank of Canada Mark Carney has been appointed to the board of Stripe Inc. amid reports the financial technology business is preparing a new funding round
• Germany needs to further slow the spread of the coronavirus before the government can consider additional steps to loosen restrictions on Europe’s largest economy
• An ongoing surge in the cost of shipping goods around the world is prompting manufacturers and their customers to scramble for cheaper solutions
• New Zealand’s sovereign credit rating has been raised by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings, making it the first developed nation with investment-grade debt to get an upgrade since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.