Money Trickling in Italy, Euro-area GDP, Riksbank QE: Eco Day

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

• More than seven weeks after Italy imposed one of Europe’s most rigorous lockdowns, money is finally trickling down to companies hurt by the ensuing economic paralysis
• Spain and France, two of the hardest hit by the coronavirus, are set to spell out plans to ease lockdowns as Europe moves to loosen restrictions despite concerns that such steps could backfire
• First-quarter euro-area GDP data due Thursday will show a 3.7% contraction, the first since 2013, capturing the early hit to the economy from shutdowns to contain the coronavirus
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Britons to stick with the lockdown that has helped slow deaths from coronavirus as his government plans safe ways to reboot the battered U.K. economy. Britain’s young, female and low-paid workers are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus -- health and finance-wise
• Some of the most influential investors in Sweden’s credit market are urging the Riksbank to look into buying bonds straight from issuers
• Who suffers most? Bloomberg Economics runs GDP forecasts for a world in lockdown
• Waffle House has a reputation for hardiness, so it surprised no one familiar with the restaurant chain that it would be among the first to embrace Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s plan to reopen the economy
• The Fed expanded the scope and duration of the Municipal Liquidity Facility, a $500 billion emergency lending program for state and local governments enduring fallout from the virus
• Bank Indonesia is poised to buy sovereign bonds directly from the government on Tuesday, underscoring a massive shift that is playing out in Asia’s investment landscape
• Australia will distribute about A$30 billion ($19.3 billion) of direct stimulus cash “over the next month” after handing out about A$10 billion in the past three weeks
• Wages in Singapore will take a bigger hit than jobs as businesses try to cut costs in an economy bracing for a sharp contraction, the central bank said

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