Fed Minutes, U.S.'s Yuan Demand, Brazil Pension Plan: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Wednesday, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to get your day started:

• Minutes from the Fed’s January meeting are scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. in Washington. Investors will be seeking insight into the U.S. central bank’s biggest policy reversal in years
• U.S. negotiators are pushing for the Chinese to keep the yuan stable, but it won’t be that easy for the U.S. to restrict China from manipulating its currency because of central-banker tools that interfere, former Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen warned
• Brazil’s pension reform proposal will be delivered to Congress on Wednesday morning, but the plan is unlikely to be approved by lawmakers before August -- if it’s approved at all
• South Africa’s budget deficit will probably widen to the worst in a decade as declining economic growth, falling tax revenue and debt-laden state-owned companies weigh on public finances
• European Central Bank officials will discuss new long-term loans for banks shortly, even though it’s unclear yet whether a decision will be taken, according to Executive Board member Peter Praet
• Booming employment, a rare bright spot for the British economy, also has a dark side
• The Fed’s dovish shift is one thing supporting Asian financial conditions
• Japan’s exports were the latest to give a stark reminder of the global economic slowdown underway, recording a second straight monthly drop for the first time since 2016
• The time-tested relationship between unemployment and inflation has broken down all over, but perhaps no more oddly than in Australia
• Finally, take a look at the Bloomberg Global Vice Index

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

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