Aug 09 States On Hook For Billions Under Trump's Unemployment Plan By Matthew Barakat, Associated Press President Trump's executive orders to create more unemployment pay may force states to contribute additional funding. Continue reading
Aug 06 1.2 million seek jobless aid after $600 federal checks end By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the coronavirus keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired. The Labor Department's report… Continue reading
Aug 01 Watch 5:23 America's COVID-19 economy struggles as cases climb By PBS NewsHour As the emergency $600-per-week unemployment benefit expired on July 31, officials expressed optimism for another relief package. The bill, being negotiated right now, would be the fifth since the pandemic hit and likely the last before the November elections. Diane… Continue watching
Jul 02 Lebanese major retailers to shut down amid economic crisis By Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Major retailers in Lebanon announced they will temporarily close in the face of an increasingly volatile currency market and their inability to set prices while the Lebanese pound plunges against the dollar. Continue reading
Jul 01 Federal Reserve meeting minutes show concern about steep economic downturn By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press Fed officials noted that the crisis was not falling equally on all Americans. The minutes say officials discussed how the sharp rise in joblessness had been especially severe for lower-wage workers, women, African Americans, and Hispanics. Continue reading
Jun 26 What the government should learn from this pandemic, according to 7 economists By Candice Norwood As states are reopening, the economy is adding back some jobs, but the effects of the pandemic and recession will likely be felt for years. Continue reading
Jun 24 IMF downgrades outlook for global economy in face of virus By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press The IMF predicts that the global economy will shrink 4.9% this year, significantly worse than the 3% drop it had estimated in its previous report in April. Continue reading
Jun 20 Watch 8:03 Why minority-owned businesses are struggling to get PPP loans By Ivette Feliciano, Connie Kargbo The Paycheck Protection Program or PPP provides federally-backed forgivable loans to businesses whose revenues may be impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, little of the $659 billion fund has made it to Latino and… Continue watching
Jun 15 Stocks sink worldwide as coronavirus infections rise again By Stan Choe, Associated Press The S&P 500 was down 0.9% in midday trading, though it pared its loss through the morning after being down 2.5% earlier. Continue reading
Jun 11 Watch 5:06 What the latest jobs numbers say about a U.S. economic recovery The number of weekly jobless claims is the lowest since the economic shutdown began in March, but it remains far above what the U.S. has experienced during other financial crises. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said earlier this… Continue watching