Who Pays for Crisis, ECB Stealth Cut, China Stock Block: Eco Day

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

• As the U.K. figures out how to restart its economy, the realization that key workers bore the brunt of spending cuts after the last crisis is shaping the debate over who pays for the latest one

• The European Central Bank’s surprise tweaks to monetary policy amount to an effective interest-rate cut that puts banks on the front line of the euro area economic recovery

  • The ECB will update its view of the economic fallout from the coronavirus on Friday, and President Christine Lagarde gave a depressing preview Thursday, saying GDP could slump 15% in a “severe” scenario
• Crucial decisions about the U.K.’s future trade relationship with the European Union are set to be crammed into a dramatic final few weeks of the year after the coronavirus ate into vital negotiating time and Britain ruled out extending the deadline
• U.S. President Donald Trump is exploring blocking a government retirement fund from investing in Chinese equities considered a national security risk, a person familiar with the internal deliberations said
• South Africa’s National Treasury expects job losses, tax losses and a contracting economy due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown to halt its spread
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is ready to name a new leader at the Bank of Canada, according to people familiar with the matter, ending weeks of speculation about its choice
• South Korea’s exports fell in April by the most since the global financial crisis, offering an early indication of how the coronavirus pandemic is slamming world trade

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