Economic measures: what countries are doing to face the crisis

Tuesday (17) was not so tense in the financial markets.

Despite the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic remaining uncertain and generating tension, measures are being taken.

USA Measurements

• In the US, the government of Donald Trump announced that it intends to send checks to citizens in the next two weeks to alleviate the economic consequences of the pandemic.
• The Fed has announced that it will resume buying short-term corporate debt to ease credit markets.
• US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US intends to keep markets open during the crisis, although shorter opening hours may be needed at some point.
• Trump also said on Tuesday he wants a US$ 1 trillion stimulus package.

Measurements from other countries

• BC of Turkey anticipated and cut its main interest rate by 1 percentage point.
• The Philippines was the first country to announce an indefinite stock exchange closure, with officials citing risks to traders' safety.
• France, Italy and Spain have restricted trading on equity markets, banning short selling to protect some of Europe's biggest companies. In these operations, traders borrow a company's stock with a view to selling it, hoping to buy it back at a lower price and pocket the difference.
• In Germany, economic sentiment among German investors has fallen to levels last seen at the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, according to research by the ZEW institute. Analysts project that the economy will shrink in the first quarter, with a contraction also very likely in the second quarter.
• The governments of France and Italy do not rule out nationalizing companies shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.
• Goldman Sachs now predicts that China's GDP will grow by 3% in 2020, compared to the previous high projection of 5.5%.
• France has announced that it will inject 45 billion euros into the country's economy, on the expectation that the economy could fall by 11TP3Q in 2020.
• The Bank of Japan carried out the first 84-day dollar funding operation, after central banks agreed this week to offer three-month dollar credit to ease funding squeezes.
• Spain has announced a €200 billion aid package to protect jobs and reduce the impact of the epidemic on the country's economy.

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