Fed Push Back, China Credit Robust, Pandemic Inflation: 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, which cut its primary interest rate to near zero March 15 in the face of the economic crisis prompted by the coronavirus, isn’t anticipating the use of negative rates
• China’s credit provision in April was stronger than in recent years, signaling the central bank’s credit easing policy is reviving demand. The economy still needs more policy support, writes Chang Shu
• The global pandemic will likely only suppress prices mildly, San Francisco Fed research shows. It also found “automation” may mitigate pandemic-fueled job uncertainty and the recession depth
• New Zealand’s central bank will mark the first anniversary of its new Monetary Policy Committee amid an unprecedented crisis, with policy makers under pressure to deliver massive additional stimulus
• Central bankers who typically forecast the economy’s trajectory in simple ranges are now resorting to scenario projections, underlining the difficulty in pinning down the impact of the pandemic
• Almost one in every five companies in Germany decided to let go of staff in April -- an early warning sign that state subsidies might not be enough to prevent widespread damage to the labor market
• In the middle of a spat between Europe’s top courts over the limits of ECB monetary stimulus, President Christine Lagarde is probably preparing to do even more
• Argentina’s bondholders need to present a reasonable counteroffer to avoid another debt default by the South American nation, according to Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call to get back to work should have been music to the ears of British business owners. Instead, there was mostly confusion as they figure out how to do it
• Scarred and scared, the reshaping of American consumers begins
• Wuhan, where the global coronavirus epidemic first started, reported its first new infections since the Chinese city ended its 76-day lockdown on April 8

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