German Rebound, ECB’s Glass Ceiling, China Loses Steam: Eco Day

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

• Germany’s economy emerged from stagnation at the beginning of 2019, returning to growth despite a slump in manufacturing that continues to plague the nation
  • Eastern Europe’s also report biggest economies report first-quarter GDP today -- here’s what to expect
• The odds of the European Central Bank getting its first female president one day could improve if governments looked a little harder at the talent available
• The Bank of Israel still isn’t ready to completely step out of the foreign-exchange market more than a decade after it began a program of trying to weaken the shekel under then-Governor Stanley Fischer
• A sharp jump in inflation won’t be enough to end Poland’s longest spell of stable interest rates
• China’s economy lost steam in April, underscoring the fragility of the world’s second-largest economy as it girds for an intensified face-off with the U.S. over trade. Elsewhere, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said propping up domestic demand would be a priority for his government as economic data show signs of weakness ahead of a planned increase in the sales tax in October
• President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve to “match” what he said China would do to offset economic hardship being caused by tariffs, but Fed officials are sticking with their pledge for patience on interest rates
• China may be reluctant to commit to a deal with the U.S. that limits its flexibility on foreign-exchange rates. Tom Orlik explains why the yuan won’t be used as a weapon in the trade war
• India’s consumers are being tested after helping drive the fastest-growing major economy. Also, finding an ATM in India is getting tougher even as dependence on cash persists
• Indonesia posted it’s biggest trade deficit since at least 2008 as exports plunged, adding to pressure on the currency and giving the central bank more reason to keep interest rates on hold this week

To contact the reporter on this story: Anirban Nag in Mumbai at anag8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Karthikeyan Sundaram, Tuhin Kar

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