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

  • Fed officials viewed current monetary policy as appropriate “for a time” while guarding against domestic and global risks. Yelena Shulyatyeva notes the January meeting minutes shelve the notion of more policy support to cushion the coronavirus impact
  • China’s economy is under increasing strain from the shutdowns imposed to curb the coronavirus, threatening to cut wages and drive companies toward government aid. China’s benchmark borrowing costs for new corporate loans are expected to be cut today
  • The IMF reiterated that global economic growth appears to be bottoming out, though cautioned that risks dominate the outlook
  • Exactly two months after the Riksbank said it was abandoning negative interest rates, a dismal inflation report just put the prospect of life below zero back on the agenda
  • Indonesia may be ready to cut rates again after a three-month pause as policy makers look to head off the impact of the coronavirus
  • The ECB should do more to persuade the public that it can deliver faster inflation, according to its own research
  • Argentina’s debt load is unsustainable, the IMF said after completing a week of meetings, paving the way for the government to ask private bondholders to take on losses. Meantime, the central bank lowered the key rate to 40%, extending the world’s deepest cuts
  • The Brazil economy minister is facing criticism after comparing public servants to parasites, appearing to back a weak currency and sneering at maids who were able to travel to Disney World thanks to the past strength of the currency
  • Fossil-fuel production may be responsible for much more atmospheric methane than scientists previously thought

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Jackson at pjackson53@bloomberg.net, Alexandra Veroude

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