Oil Price War, ECB Firing Blanks, Japanese Fiscal Aid: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) --

Welcome to Monday, Europe. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help you start the week:

• Another shockwave is about to rip through a world economy already reeling from the coronavirus -- a plunge in the price of oil
• Global central bankers enter a new week under fresh pressure to outline the next steps in their battle to address the impact of the coronavirus outbreak
• Among them, Christine Lagarde. The first crisis of the new European Central Bank President’s tenure will force her to to decide this week whether to fire one of the few monetary-policy bullets she has left
• The two new leaders of the British economy, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and the next Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, inherit the biggest economic threat for a decade. Sunak signaled fiscal rules could be ditched as he prepares a package to tackle the crisis
• The U.K. is the biggest country yet to zoom in on the explosive topic of the pay gap between women and men
• Saudi Arabia plans to boost oil output next month to well above 10 million barrels a day, as the kingdom responds aggressively to the collapse of its OPEC+ alliance with Russia
• Japan’s government will offer financial assistance to small businesses as part of a second round of emergency measures against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said
• In any normal year, China’s political class would be convening around now inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People to rubber-stamp the year’s targets for economic growth and the policies to make it happen. Instead, the Chinese capital is hushed
• Italy introduced far-reaching measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak, including a near-complete travel ban for about a quarter of the population. Yet, it is unclear how strictly they would be enforced
• China’s exports fell more than expected in the first two months of this year as the coronavirus outbreak led to extended holidays, depressed factory output, and blocked transport and movement
• Australia’s fiscal stimulus package to protect the economy against the impact of the coronavirus may run as high A$10 billion ($6.6 billion), as it seeks to protect jobs and company cash flows
• The U.S. and Europe face the “distinct possibility” of a technical recession in the first half of the year as the coronavirus outbreak damps demand and supply and drives investors to safe havens, according to Pimco’s Joachim Fels
• Philippine central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno’s plate is full as he starts his second year in office
• Lebanon is about to enter the crucial first phase of talks aimed at renegotiating its $30 billion in Eurobonds after saying at the weekend it won’t pay dollar debt coming due Monday

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jeffrey Black in Hong Kong at jblack25@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, James Mayger

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With assistance from Bloomberg