China Supply Grip, U.S. Recession, Japan Job Concerns: Eco Day

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

• The trade war amplified calls in the U.S. and elsewhere for reducing dependence on China for strategic goods. Now, the pandemic has politicians vowing to take action
• The record-long U.S. expansion ended in February, according to the academic panel that serves as the arbiter of America’s business cycles. The U.S. recession will prove to be in the rearview mirror only if policy stays the course, writes Andrew Husby
• Job concerns are rising in Japan, writes Yuki Masujima. Meantime, Tokyo and London are beginning post-Brexit trade talks
• North Korea will shut down a liaison office it shares with South Korea by noon on Tuesday, including a hotline between its leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In
• Australia’s farmers are on a mission to find fresh buyers for their barley, and are targeting bigger exports even after the country’s top customer, China, slapped tariffs of about 80% on the grain
• Joe Biden slammed President Donald Trump’s stewardship of the economy, citing the official declaration that the U.S. entered a recession just as the coronavirus was starting to take hold
• The Fed expanded its Main Street Lending Program, which it said will be open for eligible lenders “soon,” allowing more companies to participate and lessening the burden on banks that create the loans
• ECB chief Christine Lagarde signaled her institution is willing to play a more active role in responding to a critical ruling by Germany’s constitutional court over its monetary policy
• Italy might just be succeeding yet again in shaking off a crisis without having to confront the failings of its economy
• The global economy will contract the most since World War II and emerging nations’ output will shrink for the first time in at least six decades due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank said
• Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador nominated Jesus Seade to lead the World Trade Organization, looking to capitalize on his work to renegotiate North America’s free trade deal
• Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, wants to put his company — and his country — on the global stage

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