(Bloomberg) --

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

• The White House acknowledged what many economists considered obvious through much of last year: President Donald Trump’s trade stance depressed economic growth and business investment
• For the fourth straight year, Atherton, California topped Bloomberg’s Richest Places annual index. With an average household income of more than $525,000, it became the first and so far only community to top the half-million dollar mark since Bloomberg started compiling the index in 2017
• The rising tide of the U.S. economy hasn’t been lifting all boats equally –- at least when it comes to pay
• The International Monetary Fund gave Argentina the backing it needed to hit its bondholders with a significant haircut
• Battered manufacturers across the euro area remain under pressure thanks to the fallout from the coronavirus, gradually dashing hopes for a recovery.
• China’s banks lowered the benchmark borrowing costs for new corporate and household loans after Beijing slashed a range of policy rates this month to blunt the economic impact of a deadly virus outbreak; Bloomberg Economics’ David Qu sees the official one-year Loan Prime Rate falling another 30 basis points this year

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in London at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint

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