Alphabet Soup, Thatcher’s Followers, Greece’s Example: Eco Day

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

• Economists are serving up a menu of alphabet soup in trying to forecast the world economy’s recovery from what could be the deepest recession since World War II. Will it be shaped like a V, a U, an L or a W?
• The coronavirus crisis means tearing up four decades of economic orthodoxy in the U.K., which, since the days of Margaret Thatcher, has pulled the state out of the business sphere more than any other country in Europe. Meanwhile, Britain is set issue the most debt since the financial crisis, and much of it may end up with the BOE
• For a guide to the dangers a European democracy could face amid a debilitating economic shock, Greece is an easy example at the continent’s doorstep
• German companies’ filings for state wage support suggest that about one-fifth of the workforce will have its hours reduced
• Almost one million people have claimed “universal credit” welfare payments in the U.K. in the past two weeks, exposing the massive economic hit from the coronavirus lockdown
• A massive exodus of capital from emerging economies has left many in a Catch-22 position: The kinds of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures the rich world is deploying could make things worse
• China’s March factory data offered glints of hope that global trade could crawl out of a deep hole. An equivalent gauge on the U.S. side suggests that’s probably just wishful thinking
• White House projections for coronavirus fatalities to extend into the summer will reinforce fears of deep declines in U.S. output and employment. The $2 trillion stimulus may not be in time to rescue many families and small businesses
• Japan is revisiting the idea of cash handouts to stimulate the economy
• The Bank of Canada began its first-ever foray into quantitative easing

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