China Relationship, Hamptons Retreat, Isolation Cash: Eco Day

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

• China warned the U.S. to think “carefully” about where their relationship was heading, in response to a question about their trade deal that came amid a flare in tensions over the forced closure of Beijing’s consulate in Houston
• Hundreds of billions of dollars in government loans to small businesses helped save between 1.4 million and 3.2 million jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Federal Reserve researchers
• Republicans and the White House are counting on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reconciling GOP differences with a draft coronavirus relief package that they can take into negotiations with congressional Democrats
• Buenos Aires province, Argentina’s largest and most populous, is offering citizens an incentive to isolate in government facilities: a daily cash stipend
• New Yorkers seeking a Hamptons retreat during the Covid-19 lockdown were big spenders. Their purchases sent home prices in the Long Island beach towns to a 13-year high
• Italy’s government approved a proposal for 25 billion euros ($29 billion) in extra spending as it battles to rescue an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic
• The European Central Bank set up a facility to provide euro liquidity to Hungary’s financial institutions to tackle any possible shortages in case of market dysfunctions caused by the pandemic
• Investors who have mopped up 12% returns from Russian government debt in the past three months are waiting to find out if an expected reduction this week will be the last
• Temporary basic income payments could stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic by allowing the world’s poorest people to stay at home, according to a new report from the United Nations Development Programme
• And finally, as this tumultuous season of Bloomberg’s Stephanomics podcast draws to a close, host Stephanie Flanders speaks with two leading economists about what they’ve learned from the crisis so far

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