ECB head Christine Lagarde said Thursday that the the bond purchase stimulus is not the last word and could be increased if the coronavirus crisis demands that.
Late Wednesday, the European Central Bank launched an expanded program to buy up to 750 billion euros ($820 billion) in bonds to support the economy. Saudi Arabia will cut spending by 5%, or about $13.3 billion, to offset the impact of plunging oil prices and the effects of the new coronavirus on its economic outlook and deficit. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for benefits, a good proxy for layoffs, rose by 70,000 to a seasonally adjusted 281,000 last week.Ī leading German economic index fell by the most since 1991, indicating Europe’s largest economy is plunging into recession due to the disruption from the virus outbreak.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged last week by 70,000, indicating that the impact of the coronavirus was starting to be felt in rising layoffs in the job market.
