Fed Goes All-In, China Dollar Bonds, Germany-Italy Help: Eco Day

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

• The Fed unveiled a sweeping series of measures that pushed the central bank deeper into uncharted territory. This included venturing into political territory by offering to directly finance companies
• Chinese and American dollar bonds have been hammered by the probability of a massive hit to corporate revenue. But Chinese corporate debt is holding up a lot better
• German officials are ready to help Italy get through the coronavirus pandemic and are prepared to support an emergency loan from the euro area’s bailout fund
• Bloomberg Economics sees global recession in the first half of 2020 and a recovery emerging in the second. The recession is certain; the recovery forecast is on shakier ground, writes Tom Orlik. The IMF sees a recession at least as severe as that during the financial crisis
• Chinese companies had their worst quarter on record, with every individual sector reporting worse results in the first three months of this year, according the China Beige Book
• Australia’s parliament rushed through more than A$80 billion ($46.6 billion) in fiscal stimulus at a special sitting in Canberra
• Singapore will deliver a supplementary budget and bring forward its monetary policy decision as authorities ramp up support for the economy heading toward recession
• Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said Europe’s rescue fund should be activated to lend to struggling states, which could pave the way for further ECB sovereign bond purchases
• If Stephen Jen wanted to prove his theory that the Fed could do little to hold back the dollar, he couldn’t have asked for more than Monday’s trading action
• The U.K. will go into lockdown after Boris Johnson ordered sweeping measures to stop people leaving their homes “at this moment of national emergency”
• First came the order to close up. Then the laying off of staff. Now small-business owners across the U.S. are bleeding cash and wading through paperwork to get financial assistance
• President Donald Trump was talking privately late last week about reopening the nation, despite the advice of health officials, because he’s worried about the economy. New analysis shows these very measures are helping to save hundreds of thousands of lives

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