Stimulus

China's top lawmakers gathered on Monday to hash out a major stimulus package that analysts say could grow even bigger if former U.S. president Donald Trump wins the White House this week.

China's central bank on Monday cut two key interest rates to historic lows, in the latest move by Beijing to boost sluggish spending and kickstart the world's second-largest economy.

The cuts come just days after the country posted its slowest quarterly growth in a year and a half, underlining the deep economic woes the country faces.

The European Union must act fast to prevent the deindustrialization of Europe, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, Dimitris Papalexopoulos, warns in an interview with Kathimerini.

The World Bank has sharply slashed its annual growth forecast for China, warning in a report that COVID disruptions could further slow recovery in the world's second-largest economy.    

Brdo pri Kranju – EU finance ministers on Saturday spoke in favour of a continuation of the bloc’s current investment cycle, amidst warnings that the soundness of public finances has to be borne in mind as stimulus spending is gradually wound down.

Ljubljana, 2 February – As the National Assembly is convening today to pass the 8th coronavirus relief package, Matej Lahovnik, the economist heading the taskforce preparing the mitigation measures, suggested it was now time to start thinking about an exit strategy.

Parliament adopted in a 51:11 vote on Wednesday the sixth stimulus package designed to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. The legislation extends several existing measures, while a major novelty is help with fixed expenses. The opposition was mainly critical of what it sees as “cuckoos” inserted in the package.

The sixth stimulus package, extending or reactivating aid measures and introducing some new ones, was sent to the plenary by the parliamentary Finance Committee with some amendments on Tuesday. The bill was discussed by two more committees on Monday, with the opposition criticising certain criteria and provisions it said were out of place.

China will aim to achieve "a good start" in the first quarter for the economy, the state planner said on Jan. 15, signaling authorities could roll out more stimulus measures in the near term to counter slowing growth.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government is considering further stimulus measures to address an expected slowdown in growth in coming quarters, two officials said - a move that could raise expectations that fiscal policy will be loosened.