IMF CHIEF SAYS 'MUCH MORE DECISIVE' ACTION NEEDED — Reuters' Andrea Shalal: "The head of the International Monetary Fund on Sunday called for significant steps to address the increasingly unsustainable debt burdens of some countries, urging creditors and debtors to start restructuring processes sooner rather than later. "IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said a six-month extension of the Group of 20 major economies' freeze in official bilateral payments would help low-income countries hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but more urgent action was needed." VIRUS RESURGENCE SEES WORLD CENTRAL BANKERS STICK TO GLOOMY TONE — Bloomberg's Fergal O'Brien and Piotr Skolimowski: "Global central bankers are under no illusion that they're through the fallout from the coronavirus, issuing fresh warnings about new government restrictions, struggling recoveries and threats to jobs. "Monetary chiefs from the euro area, Japan and the U.K. were united in their concern about their economies in an online seminar hosted by the Group of 30. They all said risks to the outlook remain to the downside and signaled support is going to be needed for some time. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda even warned that his economy is at risk of a recession if things turn sour." ICYMI: TREASURY ENCOURAGED BANKS TO PRIORITIZE EXISTING CUSTOMERS FOR PPP LOANS — WSJ's Amara Omeokwe and Ryan Tracy: "The Treasury Department privately encouraged lenders to prioritize existing customers when issuing loans for the federal government's small-business coronavirus aid program, according to a report released Friday by a Democratic-led congressional oversight subcommittee. "The Treasury Department's actions were one of several ways the Trump administration and several large banks put underserved businesses, including those owned by women and minorities, at a disadvantage when applying for the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program, said the report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Banks and other lenders issued PPP loans, and the Small Business Administration guaranteed them." WHAT WOULD BIDEN'S TAX PLAN MEAN FOR A WEAK ECONOMY? — NYT's Jim Tankersley and Thomas Kaplan: "Mr. Biden and his advisers say tax increases now would accelerate growth by funding a stream of spending proposals that would help the economy, like infrastructure improvement and investments in clean energy. "At least one independent study supports those claims, finding that Mr. Biden's full suite of plans would bolster economic growth. Researchers at some conservative think tanks project that his tax increases would exert only a modest drag on the economy. Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans say otherwise, arguing that tax increases of any kind threaten to derail the rebound from recession." A HAWKISH FED BET IS CREATING BUZZ IN KEY PART OF RATES MARKET — Bloomberg's Edward Bolingbroke and Elizabeth Stanton: "In the corner of the U.S. rates market that's most attuned to Federal Reserve policy, a bet has emerged that will deliver a handsome payoff if traders move up the timing for when they expect the next tightening cycle to begin. "The trade is via options on eurodollar futures, and it's been building in size over the past week. The ramp-up coincides with polls suggesting a growing chance of a Democratic sweep of both the White House and Congress in the Nov. 3 elections. For many investors, that scenario would pave the way for a significant fiscal-spending package, potentially hastening the economy's rebound from the pandemic and causing inflation to accelerate toward the Fed's goal." COVID TANKED THE ECONOMY, BUT THEN CREDIT SCORES WENT UP — WSJ's AnnaMaria Andriotis: "Millions of Americans lost their jobs and skipped debt payments this year. You wouldn't know it looking at consumer credit scores. While the coronavirus was pummeling the U.S. economy, Americans' credit scores — a metric used in nearly every consumer-lending decision — were rising. "The average FICO credit score stood at 711 in July, up from 708 in April and 706 a year earlier, according to Fair Isaac Corp., the score's creator. Early estimates suggest the average score has held steady through mid-October at the July level, which is the highest since FICO began keeping track in 2005." FED'S BOSTIC CAUTIONS THAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS VERY UNEVEN — Bloomberg's Alister Bull: "Some parts of the U.S. economy are coming back strongly while others are still struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic. "'In some segments the economy is recovering and rebounding in a very robust way,' Bostic said Sunday in an interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation.' 'But in other segments, things like hotels and restaurants, small businesses, particularly in minority and lower-income communities, those places are seeing much more difficult situations.'" | 
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