coronavirus economic News

Federal Reserve Policymakers See Slow Economic Growth Until Virus Contained

The U.S. economic recovery will be slow until the coronavirus is under control, and Americans will have to manage life with the virus for at least the next several months, three Federal Reserve policymakers said on Wednesday. After rebounding strongly …

Fed Leaders Say Economy Needs More Federal Help and More People Wearing Masks

The U.S. economy, battered by a resurgence in the spread of COVID-19, needs increased government spending to tide over households and businesses and broader use of masks to better control the virus, U.S. central bankers said on Monday. The calls …

Concern Over Small Businesses Grows as Coronavirus Resurges, Federal Aid Expires

The number of outright failures of U.S. small businesses in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic was comparatively modest, but the months ahead look far grimmer as cash balances dwindle, federal help expires, and the disease surges back. That …

Emerging Mkt Infrastructure Projects to Bring Premiums of $50B in Next Decade: Sigma

Investment in infrastructure development is set to be one of the main drivers of growth in emerging markets after the COVID-19 crisis subsides, according to Swiss Re’s latest sigma report. Emerging markets will invest US$2.2 trillion in infrastructure annually over …

Economy Will Need More Government Help to Recover, Says Fed Chair Powell

The most important data for the U.S. economy right now are the “medical metrics” around the coronavirus pandemic, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday night in broadcast remarks where he outlined the likely need for three to six more …

States Under Pressure to Lift Coronavirus Restrictions as Unemployment Grows

As White House economic reopening guidance expired on Thursday after two weeks in place, half of all U.S. states forged ahead with easing restrictions on restaurants, retail and other businesses in hopes of reviving coronavirus-stricken commerce. The enormous pressure on …

U.S. Economy Hit Hard in Q1 But Worse Contraction Still to Come

The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace since the Great Recession as stringent measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus almost shut down the country, ending the longest expansion in the nation’s history. …

More White Collar Employees Starting to Face Pay Cuts, Layoffs

First, it was bars, restaurants, hotels. And clothing stores, movie theaters, entertainment venues. And countless small businesses, from bookstores to barber shops. Now, the record-setting flood of layoffs unleashed by the viral outbreak is extending beyond the services industries that …

Layoffs, Small Business Exits Likely Major Coronavirus Effects on Workers’ Comp: NCCI

A new analysis of the economic effects of the coronavirus finds that while layoffs of workers will have the most immediate effect on workers’ compensation, a rise in business failures could pose a major challenge later. Unemployment claims for the …

Lessons on Trade-Offs From the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Viewpoint

LONDON — Lockdowns have brought most of the world’s advanced economies to a near standstill as policymakers fight the coronavirus pandemic by banning all but essential movement outside the home. Tens of millions of employees across retail, entertainment, food services, …