(Bloomberg) -- Good morning Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help get your week started.
- Americans have become, by some measures, richer during the pandemic than ever before
- Goldman Sachs economists raised their growth forecasts for the U.S. this year and beyond after Biden unveiled a sweeping revival plan
- Meantime, a top economic adviser to President-elect Joe Biden warned the U.S. economy is “spiraling downward” and called for swift action
- The Biden’s team of financial regulators is taking shape -- moves that mean Wall Street should prepare itself for a new era of tougher oversight and stricter rules.
- China’s economy recovered to pre-pandemic growth rates in the fourth quarter, propelling it to a stronger than expected full-year expansion of 2.3% and making it the only major one to avoid contraction
- Still, Bloomberg Economics cautions that challenges at the start of 2021 could put a damper on China’s growth
- The rapid economic recovery also masks the fact that the gap between rich and poor in China remains wide, holding back a stronger turnaround in consumption
- British home prices fell in January as sellers tried to speed up transactions with discounts before a temporary reduction in a hefty tax on home-buying ends -- although many deals will miss the deadline anyway, according to Rightmove
- Resurgent coronavirus outbreaks will vex central bankers on five continents this week as they weigh the threat of more damage to growth against a hope that mass vaccinations will reopen economies