(Bloomberg) -- Happy Friday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to take you through to the weekend:

  • Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose by more than forecast in May, extending a months-long buildup in inflation, while applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance fell for a sixth straight week
  • ECB chief Christine Lagarde renewed a pledge to deliver faster bond buying even as officials acknowledged the euro-zone economy is no longer overshadowed by risks to its growth outlook
  • U.S. and Taiwan trade chiefs held talks Thursday, while Commerce ministers from China and the U.S. agreed to push forward trade and investment links, with Washington seeking a more level playing field
  • The world’s wealthiest 500 individuals are now worth $8.4 trillion, up over 40% in the year and a half since the global pandemic began
  • Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol says he’ll seek to normalize policy at an appropriate time as the economy’s recovery solidifies
  • Bank of Canada policy makers aren’t worried about a recent run up of inflation that they believe is driven largely by temporary factors
  • China’s credit expansion was largely steady in May after a sharp slowdown in the previous month
  • A bipartisan group of 10 senators has agreed to pitch a $1.2 trillion eight-year infrastructure spending package to President Joe Biden
  • The world’s richest governments are under mounting pressure to help poor countries fight climate change
  • The Fed, Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank and central bank of Indonesia all decide rates in this look at the week ahead
  • Today’s real estate market feels a lot like the bubble market circa 2006, writes Peter Coy
  • With flames scheduled to rise from the Olympic cauldron in just six weeks, the prospect of staging the Tokyo games is still firing up public angst rather than the optimism it did in 1964

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