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Central Bank Reprieve, Youth Hit Hard, Australia Splits: Eco Day

Central Bank Reprieve, Youth Hit Hard, Australia Splits: Eco Day

Welcome to Wednesday, Asia. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the day:

  • The dollar’s weakness is giving central banks in Asia room to ease monetary policy further amid concerns that the region’s economic recovery is plateauing
  • Young people are being hit especially hard by the coronavirus crisis as their jobs dry up and education is disrupted, according to the ILO
  • Australia shows increasing signs of a three-speed labor market, with real-time data underscoring the importance of virus containment so firms can reopen with confidence and employees return to work
  • Even as China returns fire at the Trump administration, leaders in Beijing are also signaling they want to ease tensions with the U.S.
  • New Zealand is reeling from its first coronavirus outbreak in more than three months, throwing the largest city Auckland back into lockdown and threatening to dent the economic recovery
  • First the pandemic and now floods are slashing the spending power of Chinese households this year, as stagnant incomes and rising costs undermine the strength of the domestic recovery. Meantime, Maeva Cousin tallies China’s phase-1 trade deal import miss
  • The U.S. economy has lost momentum in recent weeks because of a resurgence of the coronavirus and that may call for more sustained fiscal support, a senior U.S. central banker said. Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group LLC, sees more bankruptcies ahead despite U.S. government efforts to prop up firms. Meantime, the Fed said it would reduce borrowing costs in its Municipal Liquidity Facility
  • Investors unexpectedly raised their expectations for Germany’s recovery, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy may bounce back more quickly from virus restrictions than its neighbors
  • Brazil’s central bank said it may still cut its key interest rate past a record-low level of 2%, adding that economic slack resulting from the pandemic will probably prevent any policy tightening
  • They’ve mapped out exit routes, opened offshore bank accounts and secured overseas passports. But for now at least, Hong Kong’s high-net-worth investors are mostly staying put

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.