Economics of Fear, Fed Purchases, U.K. Jobs Risk: Eco Day

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

• As a second wave of coronavirus cases spreads across the U.S., economists say fear of the disease likely plays a bigger role in stalling business activity than any rules that governments put in place
• The Federal Reserve has bought trillions of dollars in Treasuries just to fix the bond market. It may need to buy a lot more to help repair the economy
• With Congress about to debate another round of relief payments to individuals, a study found that the last batch of stimulus checks arrived at wealthier, White households more quickly than to those of Blacks and Hispanics
  • Meanwhile, a separate study found that the extra $600-a-week unemployment benefit helped propel spending by jobless Americans above pre-pandemic levels and allowing it to lapse could jeopardize consumer demand
• China’s recovery is vulnerable to losing momentum as key trading partners from Japan to the U.S. struggle with resurgences of the deadly virus and resort to fresh measures to control its spread
  • President Donald Trump has indicated to aides that he doesn’t want to further escalate tensions with Beijing. Meanwhile, 50% of voters in a new poll say they trust Joe Biden to do a better job managing the U.S. economy
• As usual in a slump, global policy makers have relied on the spending measures associated with John Maynard Keynes. Perhaps none has done so with more reluctance than Brazil’s economy minister
• The number of hours worked in the U.K. economy fell the most on the record during lockdown, underlining the risk facing the labor market as government income support is phased out. Almost one-third of businesses expect to cut jobs in the next three months
• Here’s what to expect from the European Central Bank today
• Finally, don’t miss this week’s episode of the Stephanomics podcast: Can ‘Creative Destruction’ Work During a Pandemic?

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