China Cuts Treasuries, EU Tariff Delay, U.S. Recession: Eco Day

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

• China cut its U.S. Treasuries holdings to the lowest level since 2017 amid the trade dispute -- this charts the decline. Tom Orlik reckons the chances of China engaging in a fire sale of its U.S. debt are close to zero
• Meantime, here’s why President Donald Trump’s call for the Fed to mirror its Chinese counterpart misses the mark
• Trump signed an order to restrict Chinese telecommunication firms Huawei and ZTE from selling their equipment in the U.S. Elsewhere, he plans to give the EU and Japan 180 days to agree to a deal that would “limit or restrict” imports into the U.S. of automobiles and their parts
• Richmond Fed chief Thomas Barkin said while he favors keeping interest rates on hold for now, there’s a chance the U.S. could talk itself into recession; Here’s a summary of recent remarks by Fed policy makers
• The escalating U.S.-China trade war is threatening to upend the global economy’s much-anticipated rebound. Meanwhile, low U.S. inflation is obscuring how Americans are already paying up for Trump’s trade war, foreshadowing further pain
• Negative interest rates are not the main culprit for European banks’ feeble profitability, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said
• Indonesia is set to leave its benchmark rate unchanged as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions roil financial markets and the government struggles to rein in the current-account deficit
• He survived Australia’s most politically volatile decade, and while little loved, Bill Shorten is on track to become prime minister
• How Brexit has paralyzed legislation and created a ‘zombie’ parliament

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net, Chris Bourke

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