Trade Deal Back On, Abe Fiscal Stimulus, Weak U.S. Data: Eco Day

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Welcome to Thursday Asia. Here's the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:

• The U.S. and China are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a phase-one trade deal despite tensions over Hong Kong and Xinjiang
• House Democrats said Wednesday that a deal on the stalled U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement is within reach and urged Mexico to accept a compromise on labor-rights enforcement
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce a stimulus package as soon as Thursday to support growth in an economy contending with an export slump, natural disasters and the fallout from a recent sales tax increase
• U.S. Companies added the fewest workers to payrolls in the past six months, a private report showed, underscoring a trend of moderating hiring amid pullbacks in corporate investment
• A gauge of U.S. service industries, the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index, fell more than forecast in November as business activity cooled
• Foreign direct investment into China jumped last year to $139 billion even as trade tensions escalated, bucking a trend that saw global flows sink 13% from 2017 levels.
• The Bank of Canada struck an upbeat tone Wednesday, citing evidence of a stabilizing global economy and a resilient domestic backdrop that gives little indication policy makers are in a rush to lower borrowing costs
• India is set to deliver a sixth straight interest-rate cut Thursday, shrugging off a spike in inflation as it stays doggedly focused on supporting economic growth
• Divergent views on the Hong Kong protests are fueling workplace tension and workplace separations among the city's financial workforce, amid an increasingly difficult business environment
• Things are getting ugly at the WTO and a soap opera-like atmosphere has descended on the normally staid institution on the shores of Lake Geneva, writes Shawn Donnan in the latest Terms of Trade
• NATO's 70th anniversary turned out to be less like a birthday party and more a Thanksgiving dinner for a large dysfunctional family

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandra Veroude in Sydney at averoude4@bloomberg.net

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

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