Fed Minutes, EU Sanctions, China’s Covid Lockdowns: Eco Day

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Welcome to Monday, Americas. Here's the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is headed toward an uncertain destination and the terrain may shift as he forges ahead with higher rates
- Investors will parse the Fed's minutes this week to gauge its appetite for a half-point increase next month
The European Union said work is under way on additional sanctions to penalize Russia for what appear to be war crimes in Ukraine
- The two European leaders most closely allied to Russian President Vladimir Putin before he launched his invasion won decisive election victories on pledges to stay out of the war
- The ECB is right to press forward with its plan to normalize monetary policy even as the Ukraine conflict creates “elevated uncertainty,” Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said
- Investors in Russia's sovereign bonds due on Monday are on alert for a payment of more than half a billion dollars -- an amount that's set to be Russia's biggest debt-stress test since the war began
- Covid lockdowns and the Ukraine conflict risk pushing China's growth below 5%, according to Bloomberg Economics
  - Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she wouldn't seek a second term, ending a tumultuous five-year tenure
  - Turkish inflation soared to a fresh two-decade high in March, leaving the lira increasingly vulnerable by depriving it of a buffer against market selloffs
  - Peru's President Pedro Castillo approved a 10% increase in the minimum wage following days of protests that were fueled by soaring inflation
  - Former World Bank economist Rodrigo Chaves won Costa Rica's presidential election with promises of fiscal discipline after his rival Jose Maria Figueres conceded
  - Finally, here's what's to look out for in the world economy this week