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Powell Urges More Action, China Vouchers, Liberty Road: Eco Day

Powell Urges More Action, China Vouchers, Liberty Road: Eco Day

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

  • Fed Chairman Jerome Powell urged lawmakers to deliver more fiscal stimulus to shield the U.S. economy as he warned of a weak recovery. The economy shrank an annualized 4.8%, while Bloomberg Economics sees no signs of the Fed retreating anytime soon
  • China hands out one million consumption-voucher packages through local governments to get people shopping again. More than 6 billion yuan ($848 million) was distributed across at least 50 cities
  • A new stage of the coronavirus crisis is here as governments inch toward easing restrictions. It entails stark trade-offs between economic growth and risking another wave of infections and death
  • The Trump administration is organizing a Manhattan Project-style effort to cut the time needed to develop a coronavirus vaccine, with a goal of making enough doses for most Americans by year-end
  • China’s announcement to hold its National People’s Congress -- the highest-profile political meeting -- on May 22 signals confidence that the virus has come under control, writes David Qu
  • Taiwan is one of the few places to have its coronavirus outbreak under control, but it’s unclear whether it can avoid a recession as the global slump in demand will hit the trade-dependent economy
  • Major economies across Asia have seen growth forecasts slashed by 50% or more in just two months
  • Germany expects the economy to fall into its worst recession since the nation began its recovery in the aftermath of World War II
  • Argentina’s latest measures to curb the peso’s depreciation is rekindling memories of the government controls that dogged the economy in years past
  • It’s a different Saudi Arabia that confronts another collapse in oil prices
  • A recession is no picnic. A financial crisis leaves wounds that last for decades. A pandemic, though, can sow a unique kind of chaos

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