ECB’s Ultra-Cheap Cash, U.K. Emergency Spending, SNB: Eco Day

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

• Euro-zone banks are gearing up for another dose of ultra-cheap funding as the European Central Bank gives them every possible incentive to lend to the pandemic-stricken economy

• Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will set out a new crisis plan to protect jobs and rescue businesses as the coronavirus outbreak forces the U.K. to return to emergency measures

  • Sunak needn’t worry about getting the financing for another spending spree to support Britain through the Covid-19 crisis
• It’s rate decision day in Switzerland, Norway, Turkey and Egypt
• Chinese consumers are finally starting to spend again after the pandemic-induced slump, yet the recovery is unbalanced and overly reliant on luxury goods, with less affluent Chinese consumers still cautious
• Australian pension funds are embarking on build-to-rent property investments as a hunt for yield and lower taxes encourages them to look past the deteriorating rental market
• Financial risks to China’s economy edged up between mid-August and mid-September, Bloomberg Economics writes, mainly reflecting tightening liquidity in the market
• South Korea is expected to see a record number of so-called “zombie” companies this year, the central bank estimates, as the pandemic pummels the export powerhouse already under strain from U.S.-China trade tensions
• Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will use the Oct. 6 budget to start implementing a two-phase plan centered on boosting jobs and economic growth that hinges on unemployment falling below 6%
• The panel of elite economists who judge the dates of U.S. recessions is finding that declaring an end to the downturn is tougher than calling its start. A parade of Fed officials Wednesday stressed that more fiscal stimulus is critical to sustaining the economic recovery
• Small businesses in India, already struggling amid the pandemic, are having to repay mounting debt after a loan holiday ended last month
• Counting on China as an anchor of strength has been a good tactic for traders of Asia’s emerging currencies. That link is losing traction as recovery paths from the coronavirus pandemic diverge

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With assistance from Bloomberg