Unconventional Convention, Deficit Financing, Pay Gap: Eco Day

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

• Global central bankers are discovering that monetary policies they once viewed as unconventional and temporary are now actually proving to be conventional and long-lasting
• A draft bill is circulating in Indonesia’s parliament that would effectively curb the central bank’s autonomy. It’s prompting questions about how Asian markets will finance ballooning budget deficits -- and whether investors will punish them for it
• South Korea has the widest gender pay gap in OECD countries, and it’s set to worsen amid the pandemic
• Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Bourla said it’s “likely” the U.S. will deploy a Covid-19 vaccine to the public before year-end
• China is expected to pump cash into the financial system using medium-term loans this week as traders push interbank borrowing costs higher on concern over liquidity
• Japan’s ruling party chooses its new leader later Monday, with Yoshihide Suga the clear favorite. Suga has said he’ll stick with Abenomics, but jump-starting the world’s third-largest economy while containing the coronavirus won’t be easy. Here are five charts that illustrate the challenges the new leader faces
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell can expect questions this week on what extra steps the central bank will take to support growth
• Of the six major emerging-market central banks due to decide policy in the coming week, only one -- South Africa’s Reserve Bank -- is forecast to lower borrowing costs, extending a pattern that saw others keep rates unchanged this month
• The kiwi’s rally is fading as New Zealand braces for negative rates
• British mortgage lenders are beginning to batten down the hatches for an oncoming spike in unemployment
• As the Fed’s pledge to keep rates lower for longer diminishes returns on U.S. Treasuries, a Japanese bond fund sees the November presidential election as another reason to avoid them
• Just because Germany has embraced a massive fiscal binge to address the coronavirus crisis, don’t assume the country has suddenly fallen in love with debt
• The U.K. set a new cap on social gatherings, due to start Monday, as coronavirus cases rise sharply and a prominent scientist warned of future lockdowns

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