(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Monday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the week.

  • China’s economy, still hurting from a property slump, is now bracing for a hit from shutdowns as authorities try to halt Covid-19’s spread
  • Fed officials head toward their January meeting with only tentative conviction that inflation will finish the year below 3% and are already saying they may need to raise interest rates faster than expected
    • A majority of Americans fault President Joe Biden’s handling of inflation and the economy, according to a poll
    • Economists have largely dismissed Biden administration efforts to blame inflation on big companies padding profits
  • Australia’s economic rebound could be thrown into reverse in the first quarter by omicron, according to Bloomberg Economics
  • After roiling financial markets with comments on capital gains taxes and share buybacks, investors will be watching closely Monday to see if Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida does it again
  • Cut, hike or hold? Bloomberg Economics previews central bank decisions in Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey
  • New Zealand is reviewing new banking regulations after evidence that many people are being shut out of the housing market
  • U.S. retail sales stumbled at the end of 2021, factory output weakened and consumer sentiment deteriorated at the start of the new year, illustrating a loss of traction for the economy
    • The intra-quarter trajectory of retail spending is a bad omen, even before omicron hit, Bloomberg Economics says
  • Bloomberg Economics expect the blow from omicron to U.S. activity to be short and sharp, followed by an equally rapid rebound
  • Here’s why Argentina and the IMF are wrestling over bad debt again
  • Venezuela, meanwhile, has broken a four-year bout of hyperinflation
  • Trying to catch a bus at the Maliya station in Kuwait City can be unbearable in the summer

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