Tuesday 17th March 2020

Despite extreme measures by the Fed yesterday, cutting interest rates by a full 1%, and the return of QE, markets were far from impressed, with Monday seeing another massive fall in US and European shares. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Gavin Friend what needs to be done to satisfy markets that there’s a plan to see us all through to the light at the end of the tunnel. Data for China yesterday show how hard the virus has hit, signalling how other economies are likely to suffer. Is this the time for even more serious stimulus, given government and central bank officials seem to be repeating the call that they are ready to do “whatever it takes”?