The European Central Bank intensified its response to the “unprecedented contraction” facing the euro area with a bigger-than-anticipated increase to its emergency bond-buying program. President Christine Lagarde and her colleagues decided to expand purchases by 600 billion euros ($675 billion) to 1.35 trillion euros, and extended them until at least the end of June 2021. Italian bonds rallied, with the yield on 10-year debt compared with the German equivalent set to narrow the most since mid-May. The euro reversed losses. (Bloomberg)

When the Federal Reserve first unveiled its backstop for the $3.9 trillion municipal-bond market in early April, it drew swift backlash for setting arbitrary population cutoffs that excluded many crucial U.S. cities. Within about a month, the central bank significantly lowered its thresholds. On Wednesday, it went even further, allowing all 50 states to have at least two cities or counties eligible to directly issue notes to the Fed’s Municipal Liquidity Facility, regardless of their size. Apparently, Fed are trying to make sure that these funds can reach the smaller and poorer communities that need them the most. (Bloomberg)