Hold or fold?

<p>Kia ora,</p><p>Welcome to Tuesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.</p><p>I'm David Chaston and this is the International edition from Interest.co.nz.</p><p>Today we lead with news some policymakers are doubling down on their goals, while others are wavering.</p><p>But first in the US, the <a href="https://www.dallasfed.org/research/surveys/tmos/2022/2211" target="_blank"><strong>Dallas Fed factory survey</strong></a> fell as new orders retreated. Price growth eased while wage growth remained elevated. But their negative sentiment eased somewhat and future production indicators improved a lot.</p><p>But despite these clear signs American economic expansion has topped out, Fed officials are not easing up on their inflation-fighting rhetoric. Influential New York Fed President Williams <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/speeches/2022/wil221128" target="_blank"><strong>said</strong></a> policymakers have more work to do to curb inflation, which remains “far too high” despite some recent improvement in supply chain challenges. “Further tightening of monetary policy should help restore balance between demand and supply and bring inflation back to 2% over the next few years,” he noted. His predecessor is also calling for <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-11-28/the-fed-shouldn-t-raise-its-inflation-target?srnd=premium" target="_blank"><strong>holding the policy line</strong></a>. Both of them seem to suspect Powell may be vulnerable to pressure to ease present policy.</p><p>In China, officials there are also toughening it out; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-covid-cases-hit-fresh-record-high-after-weekend-protests-2022-11-28/" target="_blank"><strong>police were out in force to discourage protest</strong></a> gatherings in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. This comes as state-media doubled down on Beijing’s zero-tolerance approach to the pandemic, even as their own public health experts <a href="https:/