Pressured by economic damage and inspired by its European counterparts, the United States government will allow individual states to begin easing out of the lockdown measures soon.
However, the decision is facing strong criticism from health experts. Unlike Europe, which was exposed to the virus earlier, most states in the US have not reached their peaks yet. Reopening the economy at this rate means more people will get infected, and more will die as a consequence.
Yet another conflict is brewing in the European Union. Germany made it to the headlines this time because its court announced that some of the qualitative easing methods employed by the European Central Banks are, in fact, against the current law governing finances.
The ECB normally works with very careful restrictions and requires that countries under its jurisdiction do not operate at a huge budgetary deficit. However, over the past few years the ECB has implemented many stimulus packages to support the economy, and is doing a similar thing right now to counter the damage from the coronavirus.
It is unclear how the German court ruling will affect current ECB policy, but the strained relationship between the central bank and the eurozone’s strongest economy is bad news for the euro and for European stocks.
Meanwhile, today we see a further increase in the value of oil, thanks to decreasing supply in the United States. After the May futures fiasco, US oil producers are taking the situation more seriously and limiting their activities to help balance the market. As a result, the WTI climbed to $22.49, while the Brent crude today reached $29.30.
