ECB Decision, Brexit Breach, Biden’s Tax Plans: Eco Day

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

• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will have to walk a fine line on Thursday as she portrays a euro-area economy that’s recovering yet still in need of massive support. The Governing Council is expected to keep its 1.35 trillion euro ($1.6 trillion) emergency bond-buying program and record-low interest rates unchanged for now
• Bloomberg Economics’ David Powell writes the ECB may indicate downside risks have intensified, signaling monetary policy could be loosened further before the end of the year
• The European Union is studying the possibility of legal action against the U.K. over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to breach the Brexit agreement, according to a document seen by Bloomberg
• Surging demand pushed U.K. house-price growth to the highest level in four years as city dwellers sought homes with bigger backyards
• Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is proposing a 10% tax penalty on companies that move operations overseas and a 10% tax credit for companies that create jobs in the U.S
• Europe’s virus outbreak is bringing with it an unpredictable hodge podge of restrictions that might be almost as debilitating as earlier lockdowns
• Serbia will probably hold back on lowering borrowing costs further for now, after a jump-start on interest-rate cuts early in the pandemic helped it withstand the economic fallout better than most European peers
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the U.K. can forget about Congressional approval for a free-trade deal with the U.S. if Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union imperils an agreement that ended conflict in Northern Ireland
• One in five U.K. companies is a “zombie,” with profits only just covering debt interest payments, according to a report by an influential Conservative think tank
• South Africa faces a precipitous economic and political collapse by 2030 unless it changes its economic model and implements growth-friendly policies, according to Eunomix Business & Economics Ltd.

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