A RTRS poll notes that "the euro zone........>

EUROPE: A RTRS poll notes that "the euro zone economy's worst recession on

record will be even deeper than predicted less than a month ago, according to a

Reuters poll of economists. They also said the European Central Bank will ramp

up bond buying next month. An economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic,

which has claimed nearly 300,000 lives globally, will largely depend on the

effectiveness of individual governments in preventing a second wave of

infections despite easings of lockdown restrictions. "The biggest uncertainty

now is around the pace of the reopening of the economy. There is a series of

risks that are still to the downside...we may have a more prolonged period of

confinement measures imposed by law or just behaviourally," Giada Giani,

European economist at Citi, said. The May 11-14 Reuters poll of nearly 80

economists marks the third downgrade to the economic outlook in a little over a

month and is despite the ECB's adding hundreds of billions of euros to its

balance sheet and governments announcing stimulus worth trillions of euros. The

euro zone economy is expected to contract 7.5% in 2020, more than the 5.4%

predicted three weeks ago, with the worst of the blow expected this quarter."