(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Thursday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your day started:
- Fed officials signaled they’re prepared to move interest rates higher or lower as needed, but an unusual mix of risks means they could remain on hold all year; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted he was right to recommend Jerome Powell as Fed chief
- The U.S. and China have agreed to open “enforcement offices” as a way to make sure each side lives up to the terms of a trade deal
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison called Australia’s election for May 18, with polls showing he faces a battle to retain office. Even though his economy is slowing, the stock market isn’t
- China’s year-long campaign of targeted stimulus to stoke the economy is making its presence felt in the property market. Pork prices could push up inflation this year, but speculation that might trigger a rate hike is misguided, argues David Qu
- ECB chief Mario Draghi signaled growing concerns about the persistence of euro-area weakness, suggesting rates may stay lower for longer, says Maeva Cousin
- Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst aren’t mere words when it comes to Brexit, Bank of England chief Mark Carney says
- After tightening monetary policy twice last year, Singapore is likely to keep its stance unchanged as the global growth outlook worsens
- Achieving Japan’s inflation goal is no longer a must for government and central banks, an ex-BOJ official says. A foe of Governor Haruhiko Kuroda says Japan’s reflationary policy amounts to Modern Monetary Theory and will prove to be a big mistake Meantime, Japan’s famed 24-hour convenience stores face an inconvenient truth
- New Zealand’s new monetary policy committee members will be free to disclose how they voted, although the government won’t specifically acknowledge that in the committee’s charter
- India is witnessing a listless growth in electricity demand, possibly signaling a further slowdown in the economy. Meantime, the clock is ticking on India’s rising sovereign yield trend, says Abhishek Gupta
- “The middle class is increasingly only a dream for many,” says the OECD
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