MACRO ECONOMIC NEWS

HERE COME THE DELIGHTFUL AND PLEASING MOMENT. WISHING A CHARMING WEEKEND AHEAD.

Macro Economic News 01 May 2020

The White House let its 2-week-old economic reopening guidelines expire on Thursday as half of all U.S. states forged ahead with their own strategies for easing restrictions on restaurants, retail and other businesses shuttered by the coronavirus crisis. The Main Street Lending Program, unveiled earlier this month, will now allow larger businesses to participate, and it will relax minimum-loan amounts to help more small businesses. Consumer spending, the U.S. economy’s key driver, fell 7.5% in March, the steepest monthly decline in records tracing back to 1959. Household incomes fell 2%. The huge first-quarter decline in Europe portends deep pain and wide economic divergences in 2020. Workers in Germany and Japan are likely to weather an expected global recession better than their U.S. peers, thanks in part to stronger job-retention programs, recent data suggest. The European Central Bank rolled out its cheapest ever loans for eurozone banks and said it would consider expanding a €750 billion bond-buying program, amplifying its firepower to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. India's film industry, purveyor of song-and-dance spectacles to millions, will take at least two years to recover financially from the pandemic, which is threatening big-ticket projects, putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs. India is set to provide up to 100% credit guarantees for small business loans while eight infra industries’ growth contracts 6.5% during March.

FINANCIAL TIMES

[I]  China faces wave of calls for relief on ‘Belt and Road’ loans

[I]  India: the millions of working poor exposed by pandemic

[I]  Coronavirus leads to ‘staggering’ drop in global energy demand

[I]  ECB in fresh push to lend to banks at ultra-low rates

[I]  Dozens of existing drugs being tested as possible virus treatments

[I]  Eurozone economy shrinks by fastest rate on record

[I]  US jobless claims hit 30m on coronavirus lockdowns

REUTERS

[I]  Coronavirus shatters silver screen dreams for Bollywood

[I]  India set to provide up to 100% credit guarantees for small business loans - sources

[I]  Trump threatens new tariffs on China in retaliation for coronavirus

[I]  Half of U.S. states easing coronavirus restrictions as jobless numbers grow

[I]  Fed expands 'Main Street' program to firms with up to 15,000 workers

[I]  Venezuela sets new price controls, with eggs costing more than a month's wages

BLOOMBERG 

[I]  Fed Expands Paycheck Protection Facility to Add More Lenders

[I]  Poloz Downplays Inflationary Risk of Bank of Canada Stimulus

[I]  ECB’s Stealth Rate Cut Lures Banks to Fund Virus-Hit Economy

[I]  ECB Sees Euro-Area Shrinking as Much as 15% This Quarter

WALL STREET JOURNAL

[I]  Federal Reserve Expands Business Lending Program

[I]  Record Contraction in the Eurozone Bodes Ill for Quick Global Rebound

[I]  3.8 Million More Sought Jobless Benefits as Surge Tests States’ Systems

[I]  Coronavirus Prompts Record Drop in Consumer Spending

[I]  Liquidity Crisis or Solvency Crisis? It Matters to Fed

[I]  Workers Likely to Fare Better in Nations With Coronavirus Job-Retention Programs

[I]  ECB Offers Cheap Loans to Banks to Stem Economic Downturn

BUSINESS LINE

[I]  Covid-19 Impact: Eight infra industries’ growth contracts 6.5% in March

[I]  ‘With policy support, India can lead as a global tyre production centre’

[I]  Freeze on dearness allowance likely to hit retirees and pensioners hard

[I]  S-W Monsoon likely to arrive on time: Myanmar

[I]  Covid crisis: Centre eases EPF compliance norms for businesses

ECONOMIC TIMES

[I]  Lockdown bowls India's biggest car firm out for a duck in April

[I]  Auto industry losing Rs 2,300 crore daily

[I]  Why India needs a robust FDI regulator

[I]  India aims to become an alternative hub for APIs

[I]  RBI amends trading hours; revised hours will be 10 AM to 2 PM

[I]  Growth of 8 core sector industries contracts by 6.5 % in March 2020

[I]  Infra development critical for growth, achieving $5 trillion economy by FY25: FinMin report

[I]  Government charts plan to boost FDI flows

BUSINESS STANDARD

[I]  States face logistics nightmare to take migrants home

[I]  India Inc may see 15% fall in profits in FY21, 10% revenue decline: Crisil

[I]  Credit growth decelerates in almost all sectors in March

[I]  Average card spend falls 25% as shopping, travel take back seat

[I]  India's gold demand slumps to 11-year low of 102 tonnes in March quarter

Best Regards, ARBIND

01 May 2020