Going Solo, Americans Paying Debts, Pandemic Depression: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to Friday, Asia. Here's the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to help take you through to the weekend

• President Donald Trump said he expects to sign orders on Friday or Saturday extending enhanced unemployment benefits and imposing a payroll-tax holiday as lawmakers have been unable to reach agreement on stimulus legislation
• Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest since March, offering a ray of hope for an economy still battered by the pandemic. Meanwhile, Americans are cutting back on credit cards and other types of consumer borrowing, sending overall household debt down for the first time in six years
• Covid-19 has created an economic downturn that will cause a “pandemic depression” in many countries, according to World Bank chief economist Carmen Reinhart
• Chinese authorities are doubling down on pressure to get the nation's biggest state-owned financial groups to reduce salaries in a bid to boost returns as the virus-hit economy faces its slowest expansion in four decades
• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank is ready to support the U.K. economy through its long road to recovery as officials sought to reassure investors
• Japan's quiet push to protect its supply chains in the era of Covid-19 may prove a boon for Southeast Asian nations looking to gain from the growing backlash against China
• South Korean tourists unable to enjoy an overseas summer getaway this year could help plug a hole in domestic spending by dropping some of their holiday cash inside the country
• Canada's labor market likely continued its comeback last month, but gains are slowing on the long road to full recovery
• Melbourne's renewed lockdown and nighttime curfew are wiping out the recovery that was underway and risks broader erosion across Australia that could discourage households from spending and firms from hiring or investing
• They helped eradicate polio in India and reduced deaths during child birth. But the country's catastrophic coronavirus outbreak has pushed its all-female army of contact-tracing health workers to breaking point

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