Tag: U.S. economy

Fed Chair to Congress: Do Whatever It Takes to Keep the Economy From Collapse

New York Times logoIt’s a reversal of the usual relationship between elected officials and independent central bankers.

There were many thousands of viewers watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference on Wednesday afternoon, between various online feeds and financial news networks. But his most important message was directed at just 536 people.

That would be the 435 members of the House of Representatives, the 100 members of the United States Senate, and the president of the United States.

The Fed has taken expansive efforts to prop up lending markets in the United States, pledging to inject trillions of dollars of support into the markets, including for corporate bonds (big companies), bank lending (midsize companies), mortgage-backed securities (home buyers) and municipal bonds (states and localities). Congress has encouraged this, authorizing billions to the Treasury to be combined with Fed resources. Continue reading.

Pelosi floats almost $1T for states in next relief package

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Democrats will push for including almost $1 trillion in the next coronavirus relief package to help states and local governments hit hard by the pandemic.

That figure, Pelosi said, would likely be the single largest line-item of the Democrats’ next emergency package, known as CARES 2, which is also expected to include hundreds of billions of dollars more to help workers, businesses and families weather the crisis.

“We’re not going to be able to cover all of it, but to the extent that we can keep the states and localities sustainable, that’s our goal,” Pelosi told reporters in the basement of the near-deserted Capitol. Continue reading.

Fed Chair to Congress: Do Whatever It Takes to Keep the Economy From Collapse

New York Times logoIt’s a reversal of the usual relationship between elected officials and independent central bankers.

There were many thousands of viewers watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference on Wednesday afternoon, between various online feeds and financial news networks. But his most important message was directed at just 536 people.

That would be the 435 members of the House of Representatives, the 100 members of the United States Senate, and the president of the United States.

The Fed has taken expansive efforts to prop up lending markets in the United States, pledging to inject trillions of dollars of support into the markets, including for corporate bonds (big companies), bank lending (midsize companies), mortgage-backed securities (home buyers) and municipal bonds (states and localities). Congress has encouraged this, authorizing billions to the Treasury to be combined with Fed resources. Continue reading.

As Trump talks rebound, Fed’s Powell warns economy’s pain will last

The Fed chief’s comments suggest the U.S. economy could face a rocky path for at least the next year as it attempts to rebuild.

President Donald Trump is hoping the economy will bounce back rapidly from the coronavirus shutdown, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday that it will take time for the country’s wounds to heal even after businesses begin to reopen.

After the Fed pledged to keep interest rates near zero until the economy has weathered the pandemic, Powell underscored the bleak reality, saying next week’s monthly jobs report is expected to show an unemployment rate somewhere in the double digits.

“We’re going to see economic data for the second quarter that’s worse than any data we’ve seen for the economy,” he said during a news conference. Continue reading.

State bankruptcy furor shakes up McConnell reelection bid

The Hill logoDemocrats are seizing on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) suggestion that states should be able to declare bankruptcy as the party looks to bring his Kentucky seat into play.

The GOP leader has made his outsized influence in Washington a key pillar of his campaign, positioning himself as the driving force behind Congress’s coronavirus relief  bills and touting his efforts to score critical federal aid for his state.

But Democrats believe McConnell’s remarks — that states facing budget shortfalls amid the pandemic should be able to “use the bankruptcy route” — blow a hole in his reelection argument. Continue reading.

The two numbers Trump can’t spin

AlterNet logoAs November nears Trump will continue to bombard us with a dizzying array of statistics that he hopes will demonstrate how great a job he and his administration are doing. We do the most testing in the world. We’re making the most ventilators. We build the most hospital beds. And we will soon again have the best economy in the history of the world.

But there are two numbers Trump can’t explain away: total deaths and job loss.  He and his handlers had hoped that the final toll would follow from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model which now predicts 74,073 deaths by August 1. But as of April 28th, we have already suffered more than 56,000 deaths. Unfortunately, in less than a month, the body count is likely to surpass the updated IHME prediction.

What is likely to be the final tally?  No one knows, of course. Maybe there will soon be a medicinal treatment. Maybe an effective vaccine will rapidly appear. Maybe summer and sunlight (even without injecting Clorox and chloroquine) will help more than expected. Continue reading.

McConnell scrambles to walk back his threat to let states go bankrupt after bipartisan backlash

AlterNet logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walked back his threat to let states that request federal assistance go bankrupt rather than extend additional aid, which would require further deficit spending.

“I’m open to additional assistance,” he told Politico. “It’s not just going to be a check, though. You get my point?”

McConnell also suggested to Fox News Radio host Guy Benson that President Donald Trump should cut back on the time he spends speaking at White House coronavirus briefings, saying most Americans would rather hear information about the pandemic from medical professionals. Continue reading.

Despite widespread economic hardship, most Americans not ready to reopen, poll says

While a growing number of American households have lost jobs due to COVID-19, a majority of U.S. adults say they still are uncomfortable with reopening the country, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll.

Since March, the nation’s economy has taken a major hit from stay-at-home orders and other measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19. As a result, roughly 26 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims over five consecutive weeks in late March and April, according to the latest Department of Labor figures, making this one of the worst economic periods in the nation’s history.

Americans are split in how they view President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, the poll suggested, with 50 percent of U.S. adults saying they approved and 48 percent that they disapproved with relatively little change since March when businesses around the country began to shutter. When asked about how the president has handled the coronavirus pandemic, 55 percent of Americans said they do not think he is doing a good job, up slightly from 49 percent in March. Continue reading.

Problem Solvers propose bipartisan benchmarks for economic recovery

Plan calls for expanded testing, creation of a federal contact-tracing database and more

The Problem Solvers Caucus has come up with a bipartisan checklist of public health benchmarks for getting the economy started again and policies to help with the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The six-page plan, shared first with CQ Roll Call, calls for establishing protocols to address viral hotspots, expanding testing, creating a federal contact-tracing database and instituting real-time data reporting on state and local hospital capacity and projected needs for health care staff, personal protective equipment, ventilators and respirators.

“This will require a regional, industry by-industry, incremental, multi-faceted, and data-driven approach,” the introduction to the checklists says. “This isn’t one-size-fits-all vision, but rather a dynamic multi-prong, multi-front strategy combining health, economic rescue, and stimulus plans for our nation’s immediate future.” Continue reading.

Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver

New York Times logoThe tests, many made in China without F.D.A. approval, are often inaccurate. Some doctors are misusing them. The rollout is nowhere close to the demand.

A law firm in Scottsdale, Ariz., tested employees who hoped, with the prick of a finger, to learn if they might be immune. In Laredo, Texas, community leaders secured 20,000 of the new tests to gauge how many residents had been infected. In Chicago, a hospital screened firefighters to help determine whether they could safely stay on the job.

In recent weeks, the United States has seen the first rollout of blood tests for coronavirus antibodies, widely heralded as crucial tools to assess the reach of the pandemic in the United States, restart the economy and reintegrate society.

But for all their promise, the tests — intended to signal whether people may have built immunity to the virus — are already raising alarms. Continue reading.