New normal

26 Mar 2020 By Swaha Pattanaik Follow @swahapattanaik

Governments are splurging to fight the economic havoc wrought by the coronavirus. For example, France’s debt will exceed its annual output by the end of 2020. Investors may not mind as much as before: Every country is affected, and central banks are the backstops.

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The U.S. Senate on March 25 unanimously backed a $2 trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries hurt by the coronavirus epidemic, as well as providing billions of dollars to buy urgently needed medical equipment.

The rescue package included a $500 billion fund to help hard-hit industries and a comparable amount for direct payments of up to $3,000 apiece to millions of U.S. families. It will also provide $350 billion for small-business loans, $250 billion for expanded unemployment aid and at least $100 billion for hospitals and related health systems.

The European Central Bank will not apply its self-imposed purchase limits on a 750 billion euro ($818 billion) coronavirus crisis-fighting bond purchase scheme, it said in a legal text published on March 24.

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