Jun 05 U.S. consumers shunned borrowing in April as economy shut down By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press U.S. consumer borrowing plunged in April as households fretted about the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and cut back on their use of credit. Continue reading
May 28 Watch 8:35 Why U.S. economic policy needs to support all Americans to be successful The economic toll of the pandemic and the ensuing shutdowns continues to grow, with more than 40 million people losing jobs so far. Although economic activity will pick up as businesses reopen, there is growing debate about how government policy… Continue watching
May 27 Report says businesses pessimistic about economy’s pace of recovery By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press Businesses across the country surveyed by the Federal Reserve don’t appear to share the Trump administration’s optimism about a rapid economic recovery starting this summer. Continue reading
May 04 Federal reserve set to launch ‘Main Street’ loan program By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press With the U.S. economy sinking into a severe recession, the Federal Reserve is set to launch a high-risk program through which it will lend money to small and medium-sized companies outside the banking industry for the first time since the… Continue reading
Apr 29 WATCH: Fed signals it will likely keep rates near zero for months By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press Fed chair Jerome Powell suggested that given the depth of the U.S. economic catastrophe, with perhaps 30 million people having lost jobs in the past six weeks, it will “probably will take some time for us to get back to… Continue reading
Mar 23 Fed to buy as much government debt as needed to aid economy By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The Fed's announcement Monday removes any dollar limits from its plans to support the flow of credit through an economy that has been ravaged by the viral outbreak. Continue reading
Mar 15 Fed takes emergency steps to slash rates and ease bank rules By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the… Continue reading
Mar 03 Watch 4:29 With novel coronavirus deaths rising, health officials face grilling on Capitol Hill By William Brangham As states discover increasing numbers of new novel coronavirus cases, public health officials are scrambling to respond -- while also facing questions from a Senate panel on Tuesday about why the U.S. has been so slow to roll out effective… Continue watching
Mar 03 Stocks surge after Federal Reserve makes emergency rate cut By Damian J. Troise, Associated Press U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday after the Federal Reserve made an emergency rate cut to help support the economy from the impact from the virus outbreak. Continue reading
Feb 14 What negative interest rates mean for businesses and home buyers By David McHugh, Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press Ultra-low rates have helped push up stock markets to record highs, as vanishing returns on safe assets lead to a search for returns elsewhere. Continue reading