Italy’s Strategy, Swedish Rate Day, Asia’s Factories: Eco Day

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

• Italy may have weathered a financial-market storm this year, but officials are already working on a new line of defense for the next crisis. That strategy involves enlisting citizens in the protection of the republic’s finances
• Hopes of a swift recovery for the U.K. economy could be dashed, according to a survey that revealed the parlous state of Britain’s businesses
• The Swedish krona’s best quarter in about a decade may raise concern among policy makers that it rose too fast. The surge threatens exports that account for about half of the nation’s economic output, and any concerns signaled by the Riksbank at its meeting Wednesday could trigger a pullback in the exchange rate, according to Toronto-Dominion Bank and Nordea Bank Abp
• For Ukraine, an economic rebound might not be entirely good news. Securities handed to investors to sweeten the nation’s debt restructuring in 2015 pay out if growth beats certain thresholds -- so the stronger the recovery after the coronavirus, the bigger the payments
• The European Central Bank may not need to use the full size of its recently expanded pandemic purchase program, Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said on Tuesday, adding that the pace of buying is likely to slow as the crisis abates
• Three months ago, there was hope Covid-19 could be contained. Now, the pandemic appears all-consuming, writes Tom Orlik
• Asia’s factory managers saw glimmers of hope in June, with the region’s purchasing managers indexes turning up across the board as demand from China picked up. But the International Monetary Fund reckons that Asia’s loss of economic output due to the deadly coronavirus will likely persist until 2022
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed to Congress that getting the coronavirus under control was vital as the U.S. economy rebounds from the sharpest contraction on record
• A slide in confidence at Japan Inc. to its most pessimistic level since the global financial crisis is unlikely to push the central bank into further action to support the economy

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.