The Monday Mix: Dec. 13 – 19, 2021

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Top-of-mind economic news as we start the week:

— Given persistent inflation, the Fed will start to rein in monetary stimulus — buying $30 billion fewer bonds each month (now $180 billion) and raise interest rates up to 3 times 2022.

— Japan remains an outlier in rising global inflation: the Bank of Japan is forecasting 0% inflation for the 12 months ending March 2022.

US housing starts rose to the fastest pace in 8 months; builders are reducing backlogs caused by prolonged supply and labor shortages.

South Africa reported lower rate of hospital admissions and deaths from the Omicron variant of Covid vs. from the Delta variant last winter.

President Biden directed the federal government to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, including some 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles.

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