Fed Decision, Ugly U.S. Economic Data, ECB Outlook: Eco Day

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

• Federal Reserve officials will have to confront signs that the U.S. economy may be losing momentum in their decision today. Chair Jerome Powell is expected to reinforce his message that the Fed will do whatever it can to support the recovery, while repeating a call for fiscal aid from Congress
  • The Fed announcement comes a day before what may be the ugliest ever U.S. GDP report
• The European Central Bank will decide when to unwind its pandemic stimulus program based mostly on how inflation develops, Greek central bank governor Yannis Stournaras told Bloomberg Television, suggesting emergency asset purchases may continue longer than initially anticipated
  • He also said Greece’s economy will get a major boost from the historic European Union rescue fund
• Also in Europe, an ECB paper suggests furlough programs may only have delayed jobs damage
• China’s economic recovery lost some upward momentum in July, with the effect of stronger market sentiment damped by muted demand in the real economy
• Turkey’s central bank is reckoning with an inflationary wave at a time when the global pandemic has set loose a recession that’s holding down prices elsewhere
• Fitch Ratings cut the outlook on Japan’s sovereign debt rating to negative from stable while keeping the rating unchanged, following a similar move last month by S&P Global Ratings

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