(Bloomberg) -- Officials gathering for Group of 20 meetings in Buenos Aires this weekend will have plenty more crisis fodder than Lionel Messi’s World Cup performance to gab about.

We heard growing fears this week that a crisis might be brewing from various corners of the global economy, while central bankers find their place in the policy tightening cycle and trade battles rage on.

Here’s our weekly wrap of what’s going on in the world economy.

Global Growth Gossip

Three titans of past financial crises voiced some worry about the U.S. ability to combat the next one, as a Bernanke-Geithner-Paulson show highlighted fresh weak spots since the last downturn a decade ago. The Minneapolis Fed chief said he thinks more interest-rate hikes could trigger a recession, while Chairman Jerome Powell says rates are on the best path “for now.” Cooling in the world’s No. 2 economy spells trouble, but China has many ways of insulating itself. U.K.’s Theresa May had another rough week of Brexit talks, while Trump told her to just sue the EU. Growth outlooks are being downgraded across Southeast Asia for the rest of 2018. And the IMF says markets are too calm about trade-war risk.

As if that weren’t enough, World Cup fever was little help economically to host Russia or to champion France.

Read More:

  • Jobless Claims in U.S. Decline to Lowest Level Since 1969 
  • Fed’s Powell Says U.S. May Still Be Shy of Full Employment
  • Trade, Political Risks May Jolt Euro-Area Economy’s Soft Landing
  • Trucking Woes Plague Fed Districts as Drivers Prove Hard to Find

Trade Jabs

It was a week to air grievances over tariffs. Fed chief Powell warned that trade barriers threaten wages and growth even as the economy chugs along, while U.S. businesses are getting loud about not getting protection from the protectionism. Beyond American borders, the European Union warned Trump about how tariff battles can lead to “hot conflicts.” The havoc is bringing Japan and the EU closer, and putting super-trade-reliant Vietnam on the defense. Europe is looking to convince the U.S. to cut car levies, while the U.S. just lodged formal challenges at the World Trade Organization against the EU, China and others for tariff retaliation. Trump’s top economic aide says China’s Xi doesn’t want to make a deal. One thing that hasn’t changed: China’s still America’s biggest banker.

Read More:

  • Slower Japanese Export Growth Offers Warning as Clouds Gather
  • JAPAN INSIGHT: ‘Made in China 2025’ - More Business Than Threat
  • Citi Says Trump ‘Brutal’ on Trade But Sees Deals by Midterms
  • Trump’s Damage to International Trade Will Take Years to Repair

Central Bankers’ Scorecard

There was something from everyone in U.K. data this week, with solid jobs numbers seeming to support the case for an August rate hike from the Bank of England, and a subdued inflation reading published the next day enough to convince the doubters of their case. Either way, the BOE pledged to weigh in on whatever Brexit deal materializes. Bank Indonesia held policy after three interest-rate hikes of a combined 100 basis points, seeing some stabilization in the currency after a slump and the Bank of Thailand signaled that steady second-quarter growth could spur a more hawkish stance. South Africa’s central bank warned of price risks, while Angola unexpectedly cut rates for the first time in four years. There’s little reason to expect big news out of the ECB for the rest of 2018, but a significant shakeup in global trade could cause a rethink of policy tightening, Bloomberg Economics argues.

Read More:

  • Carney’s Communication Hits Turbulence in Airshow Audio Feed
  • Poland’s Most Vocal Rate Hawk Rues Collateral Damage on Currency
  • Eastern European Nations Now Face a Tougher Route to the Euro
  • From Intern to Policy Maker; Soto Rejoins Colombian Central Bank
  • Trump Trespasses on Fed Independence, Chiding Powell's Hikes

Weekend Reading

  • Saudi Economic Shock Therapy Shakes Up Kingdom’s Business World
  • A Land of Rabid Whisky Drinkers Is Forced to Put Down the Bottle
  • Wealth Matters to Germans Looking for a Spouse, Bundesbank Finds
  • Ghosts of Loans Past Coming Back to Haunt India’s States
  • A China Borrower’s $11 Billion Debt Pile Comes Crashing Down
  • Ghana Plans Revenue-Boosting Policy Measures, Minister Says

Chart of the Week

 

To contact the author of this story: Michelle Jamrisko in Singapore at mjamrisko@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Zoe Schneeweiss at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

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