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biancavz-blog1 · 7 years ago

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task #1

( &&. general information )

Full name: Bianca Beatrice VanZant

Pronunciation: Bianca [bee-ahn-kuh] VanZant [van-zant]

Nickname(s) or alias: B- but only for close friends, if you’re not close you’ll probably get an eye roll

Preferred name: Bianca

Current age: 21

Astrological sign: Cancer

Element: water

Title: Miss

Label: The Fraud

Gender: Cis Female

Preferred pronouns: she/her(s)

Sexual preference: Homosexual

Romantic preference: Homoromantic

Resides in: Princeton, NJ

Current occupation: student

Language(s) spoken: English, conversational Spanish

Native language: English

Current marital status: single

( &&. background )

Reason behind name: her middle name, Beatrice, was her paternal grandmother’s name; her parents just liked Bianca

Birth order: youngest, has one older sister

Ethnicity: English, Irish, and French

Nationality: American

Religion: Atheist now, but raised Catholic- family is not overtly religious

Culture: n/a

Traditions/customs: grew up going to church on Christmas and Easter- her family was never super into religion

Political views: Liberal

Financial status: formerly wealthy

IQ: 132

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

( &&. physical appearance )

Looks like (or face claim, if applicable): Carlson Young

Height: 5’2”

Weight: 119

Shoe size: 7

Figure/build: thin, toned

Hair colour, Dyed?: naturally blonde

Hair length: long

Eye colour: hazel

Glasses? Colour? / Contacts? Are they coloured?: used to wear glasses, now wears contacts almost always

Shape of face: diamond

Do they shave/wax? Where?: yes, both

Skin tone: peach-ish

Tattoos: has a really small yellow rose on her ribs

Piercings: ears

Birthmarks/scars/distinguishing marks: thin scar that runs up half of her left calf

Dominant hand: right-handed

If painted, what color are their nails/toenails?: black or white

Usual style of clothing: comfortable but chic- has to keep up appearances

Frequently worn jewelry: rings- all kinds of rings, but always a sapphire ring that her mother gave her when she turned 13

Describe their voice: a little low and raspy

What is their speaking style (fast, monotone, loquacious)?: pretty monotone, not very fast

Describe their scent: used to wear expensive perfume, but doesn’t really have money for it anymore

Describe their posture: Great posture, but has gotten slightly more relaxed since going to college- had to have good posture growing up or else her older family members would berate her

( &&. legal information )

Any speeding tickets?: Yep, one, but has talked her way out of two others

Have they ever been arrested?: almost

Do they have a criminal record?: no

Have they committed any violent crimes?: no

Property crimes?: no

Traffic crimes?: yes

Other crimes?: underage drinking and drug use, I guess?? But was never arrested for it

( &&. medical information )

Blood type: A-

Date/time of birth: June 24 at 7:21 am

Place of birth: Nevada

Vaginal birth or cesauren section?: vaginal

Sex: Female

Diet: eats healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables- watches her figure pretty closely

Smoker? /Drinker? / Drug User?, Which?: drinks fairly often- mostly socially; smokes weed occasionally; used to do coke, but has since stopped

Addictions: none

Allergies: cats

Do they get occasional checkups?: yes

Ever broken a bone?: yes, broke her right wrist in 7th grade

Hospital visits, what for?: for the broken wrist and then once because she fainted at school in high school

Any physical ailments/illnesses/disabilities: struggles with mental health, but tries to ignore it and never wants anyone to know

( &&. career information )

Do they enjoy their current occupation?: sure, she’s a fast learner and knows it’s important for her future

Why do they do it?: to get somewhere, to separate herself from her father

How did they end up in their current occupation?: n/a

How long have they been in their current occupation?: since she was a kid

( &&. personality )

Direct quote from them: “Telling me to smile more will only make my scowl deepen.”

Positive traits: smart, passionate, caring, funny

Negative traits: secretive, cynical, guarded

Likes: hard-working and genuine people, feminism, politics, yellow roses

Dislikes: Trump, horses, red roses

Strengths: can read people really well and she’s a really good listener

Weaknesses: finds it hard to open up to people; is terrible at math

Insecurities: her body, her family’s situation

Fears/phobias: horses, everyone finding out about her family’s money problems, dying alone

Habits: cracks her knuckles too often

Quirks: can’t sleep without a fan on

Hobbies: running, writing- mostly poetry

Guilty pleasure: extremely cheesy lesbian romance novels

Desires: happiness, to have money again, true love (but only on the low)

Regrets: being a bitch in high school

Secrets: that her family is broke

Turn ons: tight pants/skirts- she’s an ass girl- attractive hands, sexy voices

Turn offs: stingy people, suck ups

Superstitions: salt spilling thing

Lucky number: 11

Pet peeves: loud chewers, horse girls

Their motto: “adapt and overcome”

( &&. favourites )

Food: pie

Drink: vodka

Fast food restaurant: Chipotle

Flavour: green apple

Word: fuck

Colour: black

Clothing: Steve Madden high-heeled boots

Accessory: the ring her mom gave her

Candle scent: fresh cotton

Store: Victoria’s Secret

Instrument: drums

Game: ERS

Occupation: presidential Chief of Staff

Animal: lizard

Holiday: New Year’s Eve

Weather: a little rainy

Season: fall

Book: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Artist: Marina and the Diamonds

Band/group: The Smiths

Song: Forget by Marina and the Diamonds

Movie/film: Casablanca

TV show: House of Cards

Sport: tennis

Sports team: not a big sports watcher

Quote: “Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.” – Audre Lorde

School subject: government

Teacher: her high school AP Gov teacher, Mrs. Broum

Possession: the ring her mother gave her

Name: Margaret

Number: 11

Emoji: the black heart

Landmark: Grand Canyon

Person: Frankie

( &&. skills )

Talents: can run a 5-minute mile

Special powers/abilities: n/a

Ability to drive a car? Operate any other vehicles?: she can drive a car; she can also sail bc raised rich af

Can they ride a bike?: yes

Do they play any sports?: used to play tennis and soccer, but not anymore

Anything they’re bad at?: singing

Do they have any combat training? Why?: no

( &&. firsts )

Childhood memory: her older sister pushing her in a swing in their backyard when she was 3 and her sister was 8

Crush: Janie Ullman

Email address: [email protected]

Job: student

Phone: Motorola Razor- the pink one

Kiss: Trent Hardin in the 7th grade

Love: she’d rather not remember her

Sexual experience: Michael Kennedy sophomore year of high school- was still trying her hardest to convince herself that she was straight

( &&. childhood )

Best childhood memory?: summers spent with Frankie

Worst childhood memory?: walking in on her dad cheating on her mom

What were they like as a child?: precocious, confident, loud

Any crushes growing up?: plenty- mostly secret because they were all girls

Did they know/like their parents?: she loves her mom, her dad not so much

Worst influence on them as a kid?: her dad

Did they have a lot of friends?: yes

Were they heavily punished?: not really, pretty much free reign- not that she was that misbehaved

Anything they wish they could cut out?: walking in on her dad cheating on her mom and also most of high school

Were they more feminine or masculine?: feminine

Were they an early or late bloomer for puberty?: early

Do they still know any of their childhood friends?: yes

Did they have any chores? What?: nope

Describe their childhood home: huge and opulent

( &&. this or that )

Expensive or inexpensive tastes?: expensive

Hygienic or Unhygienic?: hygienic

Open-minded or close-minded?: open-minded

Introvert or extrovert?: extrovert

Optimistic or pessimistic?: pessimistic

Daredevil or cautious?: depends on the situation- cautious in love, daredevil in most other things

Logical or emotional?: logical

Generous or stingy?: generous

Polite or rude?: generally polite- was raised to be

Book smart or street smart?: book smart

Dominant or submissive?: we talking in bed? bc surprisingly submissive

Popular or loner?: popular

Leader or follower?: leader

Day or night person?: night

Cat or dog person?: dog

Closet door open or closed while sleeping?: closed

( &&. family relationships )

Father: Jacob VanZant

Describe their relationship: horrible; her dad’s a huge dick, he ruined the family in her opinion, also, he doesn’t accept her sexuality

Mother: Margaret VanZant

Describe their relationship: very good, she loves her mom- they’re close

Brothers: none

Describe their relationship: n/a

Sisters: Evelyn Gregory nee VanZant

Describe their relationship: great, she trusts her sister and they spend a lot of time together- Evelyn and her husband are putting her through college

Other important relatives: her brother-in-law, Luke Gregory

Significant other: none currently

( &&. other relationships )

Best friend: Frankie Sullivan

Past romances: she’d rather not remember most of them

Pets: had a dog growing up, Humphrey, he was a bulldog

Heroes: Gloria Steinem

Roommate(s): lives in a single

( &&. social media )

Do they have a Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Vine? Snapchat? Tinder/Grindr? Tumblr? YouTube?

If so; Name on Facebook: Bianca VanZant

Twitter handle: @biancabvz

Instagram user: @biancabvz

Vine user: n/a (rip vine)

Snapchat user: @bvanzant

Name on Tinder/Grindr: Bianca

Tumblr URL: @biancavz

YouTube channel: n/a

( &&. musical tastes )

Theme song: Forget by Marina and the Diamonds

Can relate to: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths

Would like to be played at their wedding: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis

Would like to play at their funeral: Highway to Hell by AC/DC

( &&. miscellaneous )

Do they have a fake I.D.?: used to

Are they a virgin?: nope

Describe their signature: small, neat

How long would they survive in a zombie apocalypse?: probably awhile tbh, she’s adaptable

Do they travel?: used to

One place they would like to live: Washington, D.C.

One place they would like to visit: Brazil

Celebrity crush: Gina Rodriguez

What can you find in their pockets/wallet/purse: chapstick, water bottle, a flask, gum- usually several packs

When does your character like to wake up?: 7 am

What’s your character’s morning routine?: go on a run, come home and shower, get ready for the day- no breakfast usually

What does your character eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner?: she doesn’t eat breakfast; for lunch she usually goes for a salad or something similar; dinner is usually chicken or fish with vegetables and fruit

How does your character spend their free days?: spending time with her friends, writing poetry, running

What’s your character’s bedtime routine?: takes a shower (yeah, she usually showers twice a day), goes through social media, writes sometimes

What does your character wear to bed?: big shirt and underwear

If your character can’t fall asleep, what are they thinking about?: her family’s issues or everything going wrong in her life

What has been their greatest achievement?: getting into Princeton

What is their idea of perfect happiness?: not needing to worry about money and being with a woman she loves

What or who is the greatest love of their life?: hell, she honestly has no ideas- she might have some wishful thinking on this, though

On what occasions do they lie?: she lies about her family literally all the time

Most marked characteristic: her voice

What is one thing they’d most like to change about themselves?: how much she worries about her body

How would they like to die?: peacefully, preferably

Do they snore?: occasionally- but she will deny it

Do they chew their pens/pencils?: nope

Can they curl their tongue?: no

Can they whistle?: yes

Do they believe in the supernatural?: not really

Have they ever cheated on anyone?: no

Have they ever been cheated on?: yes

Has anyone ever broken their heart?: yes

Have they ever broken anyone’s heart?: yes

Are they squeamish?: not particularly

Have they ever killed anyone? Why? How?: nope

Have they ever seen anyone die? What happened?: she was in the hospital room when her grandpa died

Are they a lightweight?: no

#gogreek:task #this took me 9 million years woooow

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margsld · 7 years ago

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Outlander Epi 3.03 Recap

All Debts Paid like a good, Red-Coated Lannister should.

As always we salute the writer of each episode. This magical one is written by the legendary Exec Producer, Photographer, Location Scout and super fan - Matthew B Roberts. *raises glass

Boston, 1956. Claire and Frank really should have learned not to have breakfast together by now. Sure Frank is the cook this time and damn, I can almost smell that bacon-grease fried bread but all this white fashion and happy conversation is giving me indigestion. Far from book Frank, TV Frank is a cheater! GASP But he’s discreet. Oh, that makes it better then...NOT.

Meanwhile in Sunny Northern Scotland, it’s 1755 at Ardsmuir Prison. Harry Quarry aka Old Geezer, is giving a dashing Lord John Grey (SWOON & SQUEE for Oz actor David Berry) the 10 schilling tour of his new Govenor-ing responsibilities. Whisky is the only hightlight of being banished to the Northern-most post. Slainte! Short of hanging Lord John, this is hell itself especially since Kilts were banished post-Culloden. Goodbye knee-porn. *reaches for a tissue

They arrive in Ardsmuir’s happy place, the yard bursting with grinning prisoners, leaping about in the sunshine. Or not. Old Geezer points out the fully clothed (drats) Red Jamie aka Hooligan of the Highlands, who has plagued Lord John’s conscience since their last meeting. Lord John is too swoony to speak. There he was, standing right there in the shadows of the yard looking like the artful Dodger himself. Any shiftier looking and he’d swing out an arm, only for a ladder of fake Rolex’s to appear for a fiver each.

Harry tells Lord John that he had supper with Mr Fraser, aka Mac Dubh weekly because who wouldn’t, ye fool. Also, the other prisoners saw him as their leader and it kept the prison pleasant. That and 400 juicy rats. Mac Dubh was not to be trusted though and was trussed up like a xmas ham in chains. Lord John declares he’ll not dine with that....I think he’s going to say ‘Spunk Rat’ here but then realises Harry would hear him and it could get awkward. Instead, he ops for ‘Prisoner’ and we carry on.

When it’s time to clinker back to his luxurious cell, Jamie tinkles like xmas bell until he finds a little perch. A nasty cough is heard from behind him and then a familiar voice asks if he’s met the new governer? For the love of all things grumpy, it’s Murtagh! Hooray! He’s forgotten to brush his teeth since Claire left and rats are eating him alive but more concerning to Dr Jamie is his cough.

Forget where Murtagh’s been for the last umpteen years, we want to hear all about the new fella.... Jamie says he’s young, scairce more‘n a bairn which translates to.... well.... young. Prison obviously makes you a bit gay because Jamie then notes his carriage *cough, his square shoulders then talks about his arse. No wait, he has a ramrod up his arse. This translates to 'educated and posh'.

Jamie is invited to chat with Lord John in his quarters, as Hazza Quazza suggested. A rat crawls out of the dark and Lord John is mortified. He demands a cat chase the fat rat until it’s splat. No time for Dr Zeuss Jamie says, the cats would stop the gourmet cooking classes in the cells. Then what would bored prisoners do?

Claire has finally graduated from Medical school and has a party at the house. Bree is taking photos to mark the occasion and neglects to put herself in a picture. Good parenting. Frank is eager for them all to leave for their dinner reservations. Not suspicious at all, Frank. Wasn’t he M16? Oopsey, Claire finds a pretty blonde lady on the doorstep. Double oopsey, Frank didn’t mean to have his mistress turn up early. So busted. Claire decides its suddenly quite normal to go to reservations an hour early and clears the party goers out toot-sweet while Frank and little Miss Early-pants stand aside pretending they are decorative palms. Oh Frank.

The hills are alive with the sound of a ranting madman in Scotland. Red coats find a hobo wandering near the coast and take him into custody. Duncan Kerr rants about Gold and curses so of course the Red coats get excited. Lord John, smelling his golden ticket back to civilisation, hurries to Jamie to make a deal. He’ll lose the Emo jewellery if he translates the madman’s Gailidgh and French ramblings. It's a deal.

Frank comes home from his hot date with Candy, errh, Mandy or is it Sandy and Claire is waiting for him. He’s visibly drunk and she’s visibly ready to insert his British-issue ramrod! Claire accuses him of humiliating her in front of her colleagues. Frank slurs ditto and that her face is like glass; no one at his work believes in their sham marriage anyway. Claire gets snippy about his girlfriend and Frank says Sandy is no harlot, she has a PHD in linguistics. Who saw that coming? PS I want that bar! He poors another drink because we all know you win arguments when you are drunker! She asks if they’ve done the horizontal tango in their bedroom and Frank lashes back with a stinging ��I think our bedroom is too crowded already”. Ouch Claire. That’s a fine serving of karma pie you’ve just choked on.

It’s cheery days over at Ardsmuir resort too. Jamie is trying to work out what the near-dead Duncan is raving about. He is very interested when Duncan mentions the McKenzie, Ellen marrying silkies and a White Witch. I fear he’s stumbled across some cocaine hustler but he insists that the Gold is cursed and the white witch will come for Jamie. Spooked af. Jamie tells the eavesdropping Lord John that Duncan was not making much sense. John smells a rat and this time its a big red, unshaven Scottish rat not telling the truth. He threatens to get it out of Jamie but Jamie just snorts. Umm been there, done that, bought the Black Jack Tshirt already, Lord John.

Bree turns 16 and it’s evident Claire and Frank are no longer on the same page.

Murtagh is getting more Dr Jamie medicine. Does anyone else think perhaps it’s Jamie’s healing skills causing them all to be sick in the first place? Murtagh is curious about Duncan Kerr’s news and when he hears of the story including a White Witch, he launches into some purvey memory about Claire and how often he thinks of her. It’s kinda creepy but hey, prison. What is in that tea, Jamie?

Lord John summons Jamie for supper. Jamie decides that’s a great time to suggest the Governor let the men roam the moors and set traps so they can catch their own meat, since the British are too stingy. At first Lord John thinks he’s pulling his leg but then Jamie explains it's another rat under the table. The prisoners can set their traps while out Peat collecting. Oh well that’s alright then! They have supper together and Lord John explains the lack of intelligence of a pheasant but it’s good with red wine sauce. Jamie takes a bite and instantly has a foodgasm.

Later, back at story time in his cell, Fraser decides sweet-talking the cellmates to sleep with his tales of buttery rolls, is a kindness. He's gone saft in the heid. If it was me sharing a cell and missing the good food, I’d tear him limb from limb. Or lick him. A lot.

Lord John now surely needs anxiety medication, after Jamie jumps him while out taking a leak beyond the prison walls. Jamie had escaped from the Peat Gang a few days earlier and now had returned. Jamie confronts Lord John about their history and tries to insight him to kill him as he promised the first time they met. John refuses to kill an unarmed man and they share a look. It's love blossoming.

They wander the nearby field shooting the breeze, as you do. John listens carefully as Jamie reveals why he had to go see if Claire was the white witch, Duncan was raving about. And of the gold? Jamie says he found an empty box with one jewel remaining and hands Lord John a perfectly cut sapphire. They are now BFFs.

Quick bounce back to Bree graduating in 1966 from high school. Claire chooses to wear white again. I’m sensing a pattern here.

In Ardsmuir, Lord John refuses to deny his fave prisoner’s requests. Who can say no to that big red lion. Lord John gets Murtagh a proper doctor. Jamie can stop collecting Watercress now and Murtagh is vera grateful.

Jamie is playing chess with Lord John and they bond over wicked moves and their lost loves. John confesses to losing his boyfiend at Culloden and Jamie tells John that his wife was called something starting with C. Umm, yeah, that’s it Claire. She loved festering boils like no other. John is impressed and jealous all at once. More reminiscing ensues about their first meeting.... “If you found a 16 year old shitting himself a worthy opponent Mr Fraser, then it’s no wonder the highland army was defeated”. Nah, it was the stupid bravery that impressed him mostly. Is John blushing? They bond like super glue to a shoe and things are going rosy. They talk of that fun time he thought they were raping Claire too - oh the scallywags.

Things get melancholy because alcohol. These two girls can’t handle their plonk and Lord John goes in for a raunchy hand caress. Jamie suddenly realises he’s on the menu and tells John to take his hand off him or he’ll replace his ramrod with his sword. John realises he’s just made a mammoth mistake and things are more tense than a rat in a prison cell before lunch time. Jamie leaves in disgust and Lord John sheds a tear, for he needed new pants again. *squelch

Frank tells Claire he wants to move to England and take Bree now that she’s 18. She could go to Oxford while he works at Cambridge and Sandy, Mandy & Candy can come be his proper wife/wives. Claire tells him no frikkin way. Bree is hers and he can’t take her. He reminds Claire that every time she looks at Bree she sees Jamie and he just wants to live with a wife who loves him. Fair point. Insert shit storm and tears here. He storms off out the door with his keys just as the phone rings. Claire is called to the hospital for surgery.

Ardsmuir is closing as it’s too comfy now for prisoners and the next garrison want to move in. They insist they have a better recipe for Rat stew. Jamie is pulled out of a line up away from Murtagh and is told he is being moved elsewhere. The others will be indentured and sent to the colonies (America). It’s a hideous moment where we are all waiting for Jamie to start struggling and shouting and trying to get back to Murtagh before they are separated by a whole ocean but it doesn’t happen. They can only exchange manly looks. Snow is falling as Jamie is tied to Lord John on a horse and is forced to walk for days. There is little chit chat during their journey. Lord John says they’ll have to talk eventually. Jamie is still sulking about Murtagh but Lord John says they'll only be slaves for 14 years. No biggy.

They eventually stop on a barren hill overlooking an extremely large estate. Ok it’s more of a palace but it’s home for now. Helwater Estate is owned by the Dunsany’s and Lord John has arranged for Jamie to live there for now. He explains it really is the best he could do for Jamie, short of a pardon and he should be totes grateful. They kiss and make up and stride off into the sunset.

Claire is soothing a patient’s stressed relative when she sees Dr Joe coming with his serious face. This can’t be good. It’s Frank! Nooooooooooooo! There’s been a car accident. Well, stick a fork in me I am done as all the feels are happening on my face. Damn onions.

Claire races to the morgue to see that he is indeed dead. As she enters the room, my heart shatters with hers. Frank’s face is without a scratch and so surely he’ll pop up in a minute like Jon Snow. Give it a minute...... ok, one more minute..... Nope. *ugly crying She finds his dead neck most magnetic and goes in for a whiff or a kiss, we aren’t sure. It’s a bit weird. Claire confesses to his nearby spirit that she really did love him *eyeroll and that he was her first love. Nawwww. *tears again. Claire slowly leans in for a final kiss and a tear rolls down her face onto Frank’s nose. Gahh! Too blurry to type more.....

The End.

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nix-that-rad-lass · 3 years ago

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Being friends with people I know irl on Facebook is always so funny because they’re all conservatives and like... they post political memes and on surface level they’re funny af but I know the truth behind it and it’s so funny how little they understand.

Like one I just saw: “governments can’t control a virus but expect you to believe they can lower the earths temperature if you pay more taxes”

And it’s like.... yeah? The government(s) are responsible for the majority of pollution, aka main cause of accelerated climate change. And governments are stingy and selfish af and wouldn’t ever do anything out of, you know, ethics or humanity, so they demand your money.

The spread of covid, though? That... was heavily because even after the gov started to be like “oh shit” people refused to listen. The gov was slow to respond and handled it terribly, but it was also because of corporations and individual people that the virus spread... so it makes sense that gov can’t control its people, but they sure as hell can control their own operations.

Just an example and something I found pretty funny. Conservatives really do be out here thinking they’re smart when they can’t think beyond surface level

#personal

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cryptobully-blog · 7 years ago

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What Happened in the World Economy This Week and What It Means

http://cryptobully.com/2018/03/what-happened-in-the-world-economy-this-week-and-what-it-means/

What Happened in the World Economy This Week and What It Means

The Smarter way to get your business news – Subscribe to BloombergQuint on WhatsApp

(Bloomberg) — Just when it looked like the global economy was running on all cylinders, President Donald Trump injected a degree of risk to the otherwise favorable outlook.

The U.S. president announced on Thursday plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent tariffs on foreign aluminum, with more details to be unveiled next week. Equities fell as fears of a trade war spread and expectations for U.S. economic growth weakened a bit.

The decision wrapped up a busy week for the world economy:

Steel War

The move to protect American metals producers threatens to raise prices for consumers and businesses that buy goods made with the raw materials. That will have implications for a Federal Reserve that’s considering how fast to raise interest rates this year.

“If tariffs go up, it will, at the margin, tend to put more upward pressure on prices, and those upward pressure on prices will have to be considered by the monetary authority,” New York Fed President William Dudley said in a speech in Brazil on Thursday.

The extent of any economic damage will depend on the fine-print of Trump’s new policies and the severity of countries’ retaliation. Some economists worried the move might presage a shift toward an era of more economy-inhibiting protectionism just when it looked like the growth headwinds were fading.

Economists at Barclays Plc estimated the levies could reduce U.S. growth by as much as 0.2 percentage point this year and boost inflation by 0.1 point.

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Powell’s Debut

It’s Jerome Powell’s Fed now. Almost four weeks since becoming the 16th person to run the U.S. central bank, the former investment banker made his congressional debut as chairman.

The new chief stuck broadly to the Fed’s recent message, signaling it will keep raising interest rates in a gradual fashion. He did though hint policy makers could potentially act faster than the three hikes they now anticipate.

As Craig Torres reported beforehand, that reflects how a $1.5 trillion tax package is adding stimulus to the economy at a time of already low unemployment and solid growth.

The trick Powell will be keen to pull off is delivering a rare soft landing of the economy even with full employment.

Achieving that may require him to run inflation above the 2 percent rate the Fed targets. Much will though depend on where the Fed’s estimate lies of the so-called neutral rate, which neither stokes nor slows the economy, and is the subject of fierce debate.

Click here for other things we learned from Powell.

Inflation Outlook

Elsewhere in the global economy, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda sent the yen soaring on Friday by saying policy makers will start considering how to end stimulus around the fiscal year which begins in April 2019. That was the first time he had provided any clear guidance on the timing of normalization.

The European Central Bank is still debating how to exit its own stimulus program with Bundesbank Governor Jens Weidmann telling Bloomberg this week that quantitative easing could end this year.

A third month of slowing inflation in the euro-area may ward against such haste, however, and ECB President Mario Draghi said he’s not yet ready to pare back support.

Still worried about weak inflation are Swedish central bankers, where price pressures are unexpectedly slowing despite massive stimulus. “If you look at the past few months, inflation pressure has been a bit lower than we had counted on,” Riksbank First Deputy Governor Kerstin af Jochnick told Bloomberg.

Maybe the Swedes will take a cue from Norway, which just lowered its inflation target.

A reported spike in toilet paper prices is making consumers skittish on inflation in Taiwan.

Forward Guidance

Central bankers aren’t short of outside advice.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio said they could face a challenge after a "Goldilocks" period, while International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said normalizing policy may spark volatility in markets.

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Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers warned the next U.S. recession may be longer than the last one.

And Bloomberg Gadfly suggested central banks may be wrong on wages.

Musical Chairs

Lots of personnel changes are underway at key central banks.

There’s still no sign of a replacement for Zhou Xiaochuan as governor of the People’s Bank of China, although the country’s leaders did approve nominees for top government jobs.

Here’s a guide to the possible timetable for an announcement. In the meantime, Chinese officials are taking steps to rein in the finance industry and the economy is showing new signs of cooling. A momentous fortnight begins next week when leaders set policies for the year and detail plans to curb financial risk, air pollution, and excess industrial capacity.

Taiwan on Monday got its first new central bank governor in 20 years and South Korea’s central bank Governor Lee Ju-yeol’s was reappointed. Rich Clarida, an economist at Pacific Investment Management Co., may be joining the Fed as vice chairman.

At the ECB, Draghi doesn’t sound too happy about how appointments are made to his executive board.

Weekend Reads

Apple, Samsung Open Their Wallets, Boosting World Economy

What We Learned From Leading Middle East Central Bank Governors

‘Amazon Effect’ Is Hiking Pay and Fueling Land Rush in U.S.

As Dubai Comes of Age, Its Biggest Challenge Is to Keep Growing

Pakistan Economic Woes Go From Bad to Worse Before Elections

They’re Richer Than Ever in the Land of Negative Interest Rates

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From Stingy Mates to Short Memories: Carney’s Best Bitcoin Bits

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–With assistance from Craig Torres Christopher Condon Rich Miller Jeanna Smialek Piotr Skolimowski Jana Randow Yinan Zhao Samson Ellis Liz Capo McCormick and Enda Curran

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Brendan Murray in Washington at [email protected].

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Kennedy at [email protected], Malcolm Scott

With assistance from Brendan Murray

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