Sharp falls on bond markets yesterday may make it harder for governments to underwrite the vast costs of propping up economies hit by Covid-19. Ireland's cost of borrowing on the bond market increased sharply, along with other eurozone members. With bond markets now under pressure, the risk of financial contagion that in turn would hurt the ability to fight the crisis is rising. The long lead times in getting financial support to workers during the economic crisis in 2008 show the potential limitations of policy. "One of the major components of the Recovery Act was the Making Work Pay tax relief programme, with a total budget impact of $116.2bn.

Source: Irish Independent March 19, 2020 02:26 UTC