Trump’s Reopening Plans, Texas Fallout, Argentine Debt: Eco Day

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

• President Donald Trump fixed his course on reopening the nation for business, acknowledging that the move would cause more illness and death from the pandemic but insisting it’s a cost he’s willing to pay to get the economy back on track
• With announcements of sweeping staff cuts by major employers such as Boeing Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. and the accelerating pace of downsizing in brick-and-mortar retailing, there are signs that even as U.S. businesses continue to hope for a speedy recovery, they are starting to plan for a slow one
• From the “Energy Capital” of Houston to the shale center of Midland, the Texas oil-and-gas sector is sinking fast, heightening the pain for the broader U.S. economy. The state’s sheer size -- it accounts for 9% of total U.S. output -- means the shock here will reverberate on a national level
• The global multi-trillion dollar, wartime-scale mobilization is intended to stop a recession turning into depression. But it’s also likely to change the dynamic of industries and markets as prices that were once steered by open trade are now more influenced by the visible hand of policy makers
• China’s leaders are considering the option of not setting a numerical target for economic growth this year given the uncertainty caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter. What may instead be unveiled at the upcoming National People’s Congress later this month is a description of the goal for gross domestic product growth, one of the people said.

• Political consensus helped Brazilian central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto slash interest rates to a record low last year. It’s a different story in 2020

  • Most economists in Bloomberg survey see half-point cut on Wednesday
  • Brazil’s rating outlook was revised to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings as renewed political uncertainty and the coronavirus pandemic weigh on Latin America’s largest economy
• Argentina and its biggest creditors have begun ironing out possible revisions to the country’s $65 billion debt restructuring proposal before crucial bond payments come due later this month
• European governments that unflinchingly deployed tens of billions to prevent a catastrophic jobs crisis are now grappling with the challenge of turning off the tap on what’s become one of the biggest welfare experiments in history

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