Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Hoping inflation goes away

Bloomberg Weekend Reading

To tackle soaring inflation, central banks have kicked off a campaign of interest rate hikes aimed at stabilizing prices while supporting growth. The Federal Reserve is to undertake the most aggressive hikes since the mid-2000s. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he thinks the U.S. economy “can handle” the tighter monetary policy and avoid a recession. But there could be a rub. “Once inflation gets going, it’s hard to stop,” Allison Schrager writes in Bloomberg Opinion. “The Fed appears to be hoping that inflation will go away on its own if it stops accommodating and the supply chain and oil market work out their kinks.”

What you’ll want to read this weekend

The U.S. offered Ukraine $800 million in new weaponry this week, including drones, to help it fight Russia as President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.” On Friday, Biden warned China’s Xi Jinping against supporting Russia’s invasion while Xi assured Biden his country didn’t want the war. Putin is growing more desperate, Hal Brands writes in Bloomberg Opinion, which makes everything more dangerous. “There are major perils ahead,” Brands said.

The world’s food system is in jeopardy because of the war on Ukraine. Global food prices, already at record highs, could surge another 22% as the conflict stifles trade and slashes future harvests from key grain-growing regions, the United Nations warned. The result could be a full-blown hunger crisis. While Ukrainian refugees flood other European nations, soaring costs could prompt another surge of migrants from Central America to the Mexican and U.S. borders.

A customer packs canisters of cooking oil purchased from a store on the outskirts of New Delhi. The UN is warning that Russia’s war on Ukraine could trigger a global hunger crisis. Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg

Two years ago, New York City followed China’s lead by locking down to try and limit the spread of the coronavirus. And now? Urban centers in China are again shut down and half of China’s GDP and population could be affected. Cases in Europe tied to the omicron variants are on the rise and the situation “could very well be a preview for the U.S.,” said Yale School of Medicine’s Akiko Iwasaki. A wastewater network is indicating that cases are once again climbing in many parts of the U.S. 

Germany for years feared a decline in industrial jobs because its carmakers dragged their feet on going electric. Then Elon Musk announced Tesla would build an EV factory near Berlin, and slowly but surely, Germany began turning into a major hub for supplying and producing electric vehicles. Meantime, a judge has spared Musk from testifying in a case that blames Tesla Autopilot for a fatal crash.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The policy of changing clocks from standard to DST was adopted during World War I to conserve electricity, but studies have found it can be disruptive to people’s sleep and health. However, Bloomberg’s editors write, lawmakers would do good to remember the last time DST was made permanent: Energy savings were negligible and kids got hurt in accidents as they went to school in the dark.

What you’ll need to know next week

What you’ll want to read in Businessweek

Why Sanctioning Billionaires Won’t Sway Putin

Mikhail Fridman, one of the original post-Soviet tycoons, is worth about $10 billion on paper. Now he may be reduced to a monthly allowance of less than $3,500—his assets frozen because of sanctions meant to pressure Putin to end his war. But oligarchs have no influence over the Russian leader, Fridman argues. “Those who are making this decision understand nothing about how Russia works.”

Mikhail Fridman greets Vladimir Putin at a U.K.-Russia energy summit in London in 2003. Between them is then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Photographer: John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images

Older messages

China’s juggling act

Friday, March 18, 2022

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg Russia repeated its threat to target arms convoys sent by NATO allies as the Kremlin again fired missiles into the far west of Ukraine, near the

Biden’s warning for China

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg US President Joe Biden will try to persuade Xi Jinping to ratchet up pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war on Ukraine. Biden will tell Xi by

‘War criminal’

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg President Joe Biden said the US would send Ukraine drones as well as thousands of anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, a pledge of a robust new

Russia’s potential default

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg Ukraine and Russia will resume talks Wednesday as a key adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called negotiations to end Vladimir

‘They’re lying to you’

Monday, March 14, 2022

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg Russia's war on Ukraine has displaced almost 5 million people both in and out of the country, according to the United Nations, which warned that

You Might Also Like

Looking to buy a home? Good news.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Don't miss out on lower mortgage rates ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

This woman made investing history

Thursday, March 28, 2024

And so can you. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The Simple Solution Worth Billions to Walmart and Amazon

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The following is a third-party sponsored message. It should not be considered a recommendation or endorsement by HS Dent Publishing. Dear Investor, In warfighting, there's a saying: "Amateurs

Markup matters: monetary policy works through aspirations

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tim Willems and Rick van der Ploeg Since the post-Covid rise in inflation has been accompanied by strong wage growth, interactions between wage and price-setters, each wishing to attain a certain

🇯🇵 Japan's latest low

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Visa and Mastercard cut merchants some slack | Japan's yen hit a 30-year low against the US dollar | Finimize TOGETHER WITH Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for March 28th in 3:14

‘Out of the blue’ correction

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Bloomberg Evening Briefing View in browser Bloomberg With a number of market watchers warning of a bubble, traders are increasingly on the lookout for signs of the cliff's edge. But if you ask

🗺️ Your guide to a finance mega-trend

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Plus, “money dysmorphia” and how to choose between a 401(k) and IRA. ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌  ͏ ‌ 

How to keep your crypto gains more secured

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Don't risk losing your savings to hackers. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

Issue #231: Why some people don’t have bank accounts

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

plus speed puzzling + the quad God ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌

Harry's Take 3-27-24 Expecting a Deeper Recession

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

image Harry's Take March 27, 2024 Each Recession Since 1990 Has Been Deeper The 1990 recession was small and shallow. The great Baby Boom economic explosion began in 1983, anticipated by the 1982