Italy Wants Debt Canceled, Biden’s Picks, China Stable: Eco Day

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

• The European Central Bank should consider wiping out or holding forever the government debt it buys during the current crisis to help nations recover and restructure, a top Italian government official said
• The U.K. Debt Management Office will continue selling inflation-linked debt tied to the flawed Retail Price Index even after plans were announced to move away from the benchmark, according to Chief Executive Officer Robert Stheeman
• Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s move to cut the U.K.’s foreign aid budget opened a new rift within the ruling Conservative Party. It also masks a key political objective for Boris Johnson
• Angela Merkel extended a partial lockdown for at least three weeks to just before Christmas as Germany struggles to regain control of the coronavirus spread
• Turkey’s new economic managers are racing to reverse the interventionist policies spearheaded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law, but their market-friendly U-turn could initially mean more volatility for the lira
• President-elect Joe Biden is considering Roger Ferguson, a former Federal Reserve vice chair, and Brian Deese, an executive at BlackRock Inc., to be his top White House economic adviser, according to people familiar with the matter
• Federal Reserve officials discussed at their Nov. 4-5 meeting providing more guidance on their bond-buying strategy “fairly soon,” though they didn’t see a need for immediate adjustments
• China’s economic recovery stabilized in November, underpinned by solid global demand for exports ahead of the Christmas period and the stock market’s gain to its highest since 2015. That could likely aid Beijing to exit some of its stimulus measures, a state newspaper said
• Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said the economy is expected to shrink less this year despite the pandemic, but warned that rapid won gains could undermine the recovery
• Nigerians living abroad could be sending more money home than authorities realize, bypassing official channels so their families can get more naira for their smuggled dollars on the black market

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