ECB Meets, China Factory Inflation, Ukraine Rates: Eco Day

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

• The European Central Bank will have to decide today whether the recovery is strong enough to warrant an imminent slowdown in monetary stimulus
• Rate decisions are also due elsewhere. Serbia is set to keep borrowing costs at a record low as inflation remains under control, while Ukraine may raise rates for a second straight meeting
• Spain has taken steps to prepare for the gradual tapering of ECB stimulus next year and expects policy makers to avoid a market disruption, the new head of the country's Treasury said
• The U.K. property market entered a summer lull in August, with a survey showing sales and demand easing as a tax break began to wind down
• Brexit and Covid are helping to deliver a long-promised blue collar wage boom in the U.K.
• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he is among officials who think a minimum criteria for tighter U.K. monetary policy has been met
• China's factory-gate inflation accelerated in August to a 13-year high, with commodity prices remaining elevated despite Beijing's battle to curb gains
• The latest nowcast readings from Bloomberg Economics show the combined impact of the delta outbreak and supply chain snarl ups starting to take a toll, with a downgrade to expectations for 3Q growth in the U.S., China and elsewhere
• “It could be appropriate” for the U.S. central bank to begin tapering its bond-buying program before the year is out, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said. The Fed said U.S. economic growth downshifted slightly to a moderate pace in early July through August
• Inequality in employment, education and earnings has cost the U.S. economy nearly $22.9 trillion over the past 30 years, a sum that is likely to increase as minority populations expand, according to a new research

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