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

  • The European Central Bank’s dilemma about whether to slow pandemic bond-buying next quarter leads down a path policy makers have followed since quantitative easing began in 2015
  • The euro-area economy may grow this year by more than the ECB’s current projection of 4%, Governing Council member Klaas Knot says
  • The U.S. economy is on the road to recovery but still faces risks,making it premature to discuss reducing monetary policy support, according to a chorus of Fed officials
  • Greece is moving ahead with its program to recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic even before initial funding arrives from the European Union
  • China’s factories have spent months absorbing shocks. Now manufacturers are starting to pass on their rising input costs to overseas customers, adding to global inflation pressures. Meanwhile, China is betting on lifting productivity and raising the retirement age to drive growth with its population set to peak
  • The U.K. economy probably contracted in the first quarter of 2021, but the downturn is likely to be less severe than initially expected
  • Romania is set to maintain the European Union’s highest interest rates as it focuses on guiding the economy out of the pandemic rather than taming a recent spike in inflation.
  • Palm oil is the latest product to be swept up in the global commodity rally, deepening concerns over food inflation
  • Facing skyrocketing lumber prices at home, U.S. importers are driving competition for European wood -- and winning
  • Australia unveiled a big-spending budget that aims to run the economy hot, joining the U.S. and Europe with a fiscal-monetary tandem that seeks to drive down unemployment

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