In recent weeks governments around the world have injected extraordinary sums of money into the economy to support businesses and households in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the UK, the government has committed to paying up to 80% of the wages of workers impacted by the outbreak (subject to a cap of £2,500 per month), and has provided £330bn of financial support for businesses. Similar measures have been announced across Europe.
In the US, President Trump has signed the largest ever financial stimulus package worth $2tn, which includes plans to send cheques of $1,200 to every American earning less than $75,000 per year. Such measures would have seemed unthinkable only a few weeks ago.
