economy

President Trump on Sunday extended his administration’s guidelines for social distancing for stemming the spread of the coronavirus to last through the end of April, scrapping his initial goal of reinvigorating the economy by Easter Sunday. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,” Trump said at Sunday’s briefing with the …

Saved by the Fed. Federal Reserve programs, estimated at $6 trillion after some $2 trillion in promised fiscal stimulus last week, have averted a Depression-era crisis for US banks, some analysts say. But the enormous Fed sums may not be enough to fully cushion banks from a financial shock that was already building before the …

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday the country could already be in a recession, but that it was unlike a typical downturn because the economy was so strong before the coronavirus pandemic sent the markets into a tailspin and unemployment soaring. “We may well be in a recession. But I would point to the …

Agricultural and heavy equipment makers are in for a rough year as the virus pandemic delivers a sting to an industry trying to recover from a trade war. Jefferies analyst Stephen Volkmann slashed his earnings forecast for Caterpillar and Deere because of a series of abrupt production closures and the broader economic shutdown. Both companies …

President Trump wants the country open for business by mid-April, but some experts warn it’s not as easy as flipping a switch: Economies run on confidence, and that is likely to be in short supply for as long as coronavirus cases in the US are still rising. Trump this week said he wants businesses “opened …

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell arrives to speak to reporters after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in an emergency move designed to shield the world’s largest economy from the impact of the coronavirus, in Washington, March 3, 2020. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell admitted Thursday that the U.S. economy may be slipping into a …

U.S. unemployment claims surged by 3.28 million last week, the highest number ever recorded in a single week and more than quadruple the previous record, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The data showed claims surged by over 3 million in a week alone — a stark contrast to a historic low of barely …

The Senate unanimously passed a historic $2 trillion stimulus bill late Wednesday to provide the economy with a shot in the arm as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the country and wreak financial havoc. Senators voted 96-to-0 for the bill, the largest emergency aid package in the nation’s history. The House is expected to …

There were over 11 million households in America worth between $1 million and $5 million in February, according to Spectrem Group’s Market Insights Report 2020. That figure — the number of 401(k) millionaires, as they were called — was heralded in many newspapers just a few weeks ago. Now, according to Spectrem, there are half …

Democrats declared victory early Wednesday morning in their effort to realign the coronavirus relief bill to prioritize workers over corporations, but at least one Republican senator is now claiming that their central purported contribution — greater oversight over $500 billion in corporate relief — was never actually opposed by Republicans. During a Wednesday conference call, …