Big Economy Reads: Virus Fans Pandemic Fears by Going Global

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The coronavirus is spreading from China and continuing to dominate debate over the outlook for the world economy.

Here is this week’s best news, analysis and enterprise from Bloomberg Economics.

• China Pushes Factories to Resume Even as Death Toll Rises
• Virus Damage to China’s Economy Clear From Early Indicators
• China May Cut Deposit Rates So Battered Banks Can Keep Lending
• The Data Show China Is Still Struggling to Get Back to Work

The fallout from the virus in China continues to mount with real-time data and early indicators starting to show the pain.

• GLOBAL INSIGHT: Epidemics, Economists, and the Certainty Mirage
• Economists War-Game Pandemic Threat to Global Growth
• The Virus Is Interrupting Supply Chains From Watches to Lobsters
• Australia’s China Reliance Backfires as Virus Fallout Spreads
• Italy Risks a Recession That Could Pummel Europe’s Economy

The spread of the virus is creating economic havoc both in the economies where it has turned up and those which rely on China for demand. The big concern is that it is morphing into a pandemic which could threaten to wipe out a lot of global gross domestic product.

• Bank of Korea Shows World Alternative Response to Virus Hit
• Economists Question Speed, Potential of Hong Kong Budget Plan
• Pandemic Scenario May Mean Revisiting ECB’s Maxed-Out Tools
• Fed Hopeful on Virus Impact Amid Worry It’s Unprepared for Worst
• Growth Downgrades in Southeast Asia Fuel Calls for Stimulus

Policy makers are furiously debating how to respond with South Korea perhaps designing a template that doesn’t involve interest rate cuts. Hong Kong used old-fashioned fiscal policy, while major central banks are for the moment holding off acting.

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• Inside Mark Carney’s Brexit Adventure Atop the Bank of England
• Why Spain Can’t Shake One of World’s Highest Unemployment Rates
• Haldane Sees 2020 U.K. Investment Surge on Brexit, Budget
• Central Banker Who Declared Inflation Dead Now Battling It

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Kennedy in London at skennedy4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stephanie Flanders at flanders@bloomberg.net, Zoe Schneeweiss

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