WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering a wide range of tax-cut proposals for businesses and investors in the next coronavirus response bill as it tries to shift from government spending programs to support the economy toward measures that aim to reinvigorate growth.
(Blog editor shakes his head. The American people got $tiffed bigly)
The list of ideas under discussion includes a reduction in the capital gains tax rate and measures that would allow companies to deduct the full costs of any investments they make now or in the future, according to administration officials and several outside experts who have discussed plans with the White House.
Those proposals, which are still being debated and are not final, could accompany President Donald Trump’s top two priorities for the next rescue package: the suspension of payroll taxes for workers and an expanded deduction for corporate spending on meals and entertainment.
Un-flipping-f**king-believable.
Trump and his aides are also planning to push lawmakers to approve legal liability limits for businesses that operate during the pandemic, a top priority of business lobbying groups in Washington and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader.
Related: "Faced with 20,000 coronavirus deaths and counting, the nation’s nursing homes are pushing back against a potential flood of lawsuits with a sweeping lobbying effort to get states to grant them emergency protection from claims of inadequate care. At least 15 states have enacted laws or governors’ orders that explicitly or apparently provide nursing homes and long-term care facilities some protection from lawsuits arising from the crisis, and in the case of New York, which leads the nation in deaths in such facilities, a lobbying group wrote the first draft of a measure that apparently makes it the only state with specific protection from both civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution. Now the industry is forging ahead with a campaign to get other states on board with a simple argument: This was an unprecedented crisis and nursing homes should not be liable for events beyond their control, such as shortages of protective equipment and testing, shifting directives from authorities, and sicknesses that have decimated staffs. Watchdogs, patient advocates, and lawyers argue that immunity orders are misguided. At a time when the crisis is laying bare such chronic industry problems as staffing shortages and poor infection control, they say legal liability is the last safety net to keep facilities accountable. They also contend that nursing homes are taking advantage of the crisis to protect their bottom lines. Almost 70 percent of the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes are run by for-profit companies, and hundreds have been bought and sold in recent years by private equity firms. Nationally, the lobbying effort is being led by the American Health Care Association, which represents nearly all of the nation’s nursing homes and has spent $23 million on lobbying efforts in the past six years. Other states that have emergency immunity measures are Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Their provisions vary but largely apply to injuries, deaths, and care decisions, sometimes even to property damage, but there are limitations: Most make exceptions for gross negligence and willful misconduct."
Never let a good crisis go to waste, especially during this Corona$cam!
Some of the administration’s proposals have been disclosed publicly by officials, while others have been discussed internally and with outside advisers.
None of the plans are likely to find favor with congressional Democrats, who are pushing instead for additional support for Americans who have lost their jobs as the pandemic plunges the country into recession and for hundreds of billions of dollars in federal assistance to struggling state and local governments to prevent layoffs of teachers, police officers, and other government workers.
Related: "Economists see a second wave of layoffs in education and government, sectors that weren’t hit as hard early in the meltdown as restaurants, hotels, construction, and retail. Many colleges aren’t sure if they’ll be able to reopen their campuses in the fall, while budgets for state and local governments are being squeezed by declining sales tax and other revenue. “Public sector employers are going to have to make some very difficult choices in coming weeks.” said Michael Goodman, an economist and professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. “Left unchecked, shrinking state and local revenues will require smaller public payrolls.”
You thought because you worked for the $tate you would be protected?
Also see: April’s state tax revenue falls 50 percent
When the social programs start getting cut senior citizens will sour on Trump something fierce.
The administration’s internal debates reflect a balancing act as the White House tries to continue helping businesses and individuals weather the recession while hoping that a gradual lifting of state restrictions on economic activity will begin to restart growth and move the discussion in Congress away from additional spending programs and toward incentives for investment.
Activist protests in state capitals in favor of “reopening” the economy — and a growing backlash among congressional conservatives against the $3 trillion-and-growing tab for federal spending on economic assistance during the crisis — have increased the pressure from Trump’s base to shift the government’s focus, even as millions of Americans are applying for new unemployment benefits each week.
OMFG!
They gave out trillions to the banks and corporations, and now they are closing the window on the rest of America.
This is f**king EVIL!
“‘No more spending’ has really become the rallying cry of the right,” said Stephen Moore, an informal adviser to Trump who is the president of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, which has pushed governors and other officials to ease restrictions on restaurants, bars, and other businesses. “We’ve done the spending, it didn’t work, and now we need to try something else. There is going to be civil war in Congress over this,” but administration officials and many of their allies privately acknowledge what public forecasters, including the Congressional Budget Office, are increasingly projecting: that the recession will be so severe that it could take years for the US economy to fully recover, even if growth returns this year.
I enlarged that so you could keep that recent report in mind for what comes below.
That could necessitate continuing government support to people and businesses, although administration officials are divided over what form that should take and how much they should spend. Some believe that business support is best left to the Federal Reserve, which has opened a series of lending programs meant to keep the financial system functioning and to help steady the economy once the recovery begins.
There is debate within the administration, for example, over whether to continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans for smaller companies. Congress has already allocated $660 billion for the program and to help companies stay in business and keep paying workers, but it has quickly lost favor among lawmakers amid revelations that larger companies are benefiting from funds meant to help mom-and-pop shops.
Meanwhile, Trump’s choice to oversee a significant chunk of the $2 trillion economic rescue law passed already is pledging to conduct audits and investigations ‘‘with fairness and impartiality.’’
IN$ANE!
--more--"
Look who i$ feeding with him as they inch along:
"US companies cut thousands of workers while continuing to reward shareholders" by Peter Whoriskey Washington Post, May 5, 2020
WASHINGTON — Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Caterpillar has suspended operations at two plants and a foundry, Levi Strauss has closed stores, and toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker is planning layoffs and furloughs. Steelcase, the office furniture manufacturer, and World Wrestling Entertainment have shed employees.
While thousands of their workers are filing for unemployment benefits, companies are rewarding their shareholders with millions in cash dividends.
As the pandemic squeezes big companies, executives are making decisions about who will bear the brunt of the sacrifices, and in at least some cases, workers have been the first to lose, even as shareholders continue to collect.
Executives say the layoffs support the long-term health of their companies, and often the executives are giving up a piece of their salaries. Furloughed workers can apply for unemployment benefits, but distributing millions of dollars to shareholders while leaving many workers without a paycheck is unfair, critics argue, and belies the repeated statements from executives about their concern for employee welfare during the novel-coronavirus crisis.
Caterpillar, for example, announced a $500 million distribution to shareholders April 8, about two weeks after indicating that operations at some plants would stop. The company declined to say how many workers are affected. ‘‘We are taking a variety of actions globally, but we aren’t going to discuss the number of impacted people,’’ Caterpillar spokeswoman Kate Kenny said in an e-mail.
The Caterpillar website advertises that despite the crisis, the company’s ‘‘dedication and service to the safety, health and well-being of our team and the communities they serve remain strong.’’
F**king flat-out f**king lies!
The coronavirus has turned prevailing economic logic on its head: Grocery clerks, meat plant employees, and nursing home aides, though generally at the bottom of the pay spectrum, have been deemed ‘‘essential’’ and compelled to take risks while others stay home.
BULL!
The collapse was coming. COVID is providing cover.
This spate of dividends is also likely to revive long-standing debates over economic rewards.
We get this every four f**king years, and then it is bu$ine$$ as u$ual. In this ca$e, it's the final looting and destruction of livelihoods forever.
‘‘There are no hard and fast rules about this,’’ said Amy Borrus, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, a group that argues for shareholder rights and represents pension funds and other long-term investors.
Bunch of $cofflaws, aren't they?
Many large US companies choose to issue a regular, quarterly dividend to shareholders, often increasing it, and they boast about these payments because they help keep the share price higher than it might otherwise be. Those companies might be reluctant to announce that they are cutting or suspending their dividend during a crisis, Borrus said.
Others see the tradeoffs in starker terms.
William Lazonick, emeritus economics professor at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, has been one of the leading critics of companies that distribute cash to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends rather than reinvesting the profits into employees and production. For companies continuing to issue buybacks and dividends during the crisis, he said, it is business as usual. ‘‘In a downturn like this, the first thing a company should do is give up any distributions to shareholders,’’ Lazonick said.
The $tock buybacks create a fal$e economy.
While some companies have suspended payments to shareholders during the coronavirus pandemic, others have not.
Caterpillar announced on March 26 that due to the pandemic, it is ‘‘temporarily suspending operations at certain facilities.’’
About two weeks later, the company announced that it would be giving shareholders $500 million in cash dividends.
In her e-mail, Kenny explained the company was required to take such measures as “temporary facility shutdowns, indefinite or temporary layoffs.’’
Similarly, Levi Strauss announced April 7 that the company would stop paying store workers, and about 4,000 are now on furlough. On the same day, the company announced that it was returning $32 million to shareholders.
Stanley Black & Decker announced on April 2 that it was planning furloughs and layoffs. Two weeks later, it issued a dividend to shareholders of about $106 million.
The notion that a company’s primary purpose is to serve shareholders gained prominence in the 1980s and has been criticized in recent years, even from business executives.
In August, a group of companies from the Business Roundtable, an advocacy organization composed of the chief executives from dozens of the United States’ largest corporations, announced that they were dropping their insistence on ‘‘shareholder primacy — that corporations exist principally to serve shareholders.’’
YUP!
There is NO DENYING IT!
--more--"
Also see:
Stocks end higher on Wall Street even after late-day stumble
Related:
Trump's Hormonal Imbalance
Monday Mosaic
Here is more of it:
"President Trump said Wednesday the federal government will not be extending its coronavirus social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, predicted that by July the country will be “really rocking again.” Putting a positive face on the latest numbers — the US death toll has now surpassed that of the Vietnam War — Trump delivered his daily upbeat update, and Kushner described the administration’s much-criticized response to the pandemic as ‘‘a great success story.” The White House has been trying to pivot to a new stage of the crisis, focused on efforts to reopen the nation’s economy state-by-state amid concerns that lifting restrictions too quickly and without sufficient testing and contact tracing will spur a resurgence. As part of that effort, Trump, who has both threatened to force states to reopen and said decisions will be left to them, said the White House will not be extending its “30 Days to Slow the Spread” guidelines when they expire Thursday. “They’ll be fading out because now the governors are doing it,” Trump said in the Oval Office as he met with John Bel Edwards, the Democratic governor of Louisiana. Those guidelines — which were originally supposed to last 15 days and were extended an additional 30 — encouraged Americans to work from home and avoid restaurants and discretionary travel and advised older Americans and those with serious underlying health conditions to isolate themselves. Vice President Mike Pence said the guidelines have been incorporated into the new guidance issued by the White House earlier this month that lays out how states can gradually ease restrictions and begin to reopen as the rate of new cases slows. Edwards is currently under fire from Republican lawmakers in his state after he extended Louisiana’s stay-at-home order through May 15. As he was in Washington, some GOP legislators were trying to rally support to take the extraordinary step of trying to override the governor’s emergency decision-making about the outbreak, but Trump commended Edwards on the job he’s done after New Orleans became one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots. “I just wanted to congratulate you,” Trump said. The White House and Trump in particular have been eager to give the country positive news as they work to move past the crisis and rebuild the economy, even as the country’s death tally continues to rise. The US has now recorded more than 58,000 deaths from the virus, surpassing the total number of Americans who were killed in the Vietnam War. More than 1 million people have now tested positive. Trump said that number has risen so high in large part because of increased US testing. The US has dramatically increased its testing after a slow and rocky start, but many health specialists say the country still must do more — as many as 5 million a day — to safely reopen the economy. Otherwise, they warn, cases will skyrocket as Americans return to work. Trump has dismissed that recommended number, calling it unnecessary and a “media trap.”
Now you know why I enlarged what was reported today. Really puts the proof to the de-facto president and his lies.
"Stocks around the world whipped higher, riding a wave of optimism about a possible COVID-19 treatment. The hope was so strong that investors sidestepped a report showing the outbreak drove the US economy to its worst quarterly performance since the Great Recession. The S&P 500 vaulted 2.7 percent higher and extended a rally that’s brought the US stock market to the brink of its best month in 45 years. The spark for Wednesday’s rally was a report that an experimental drug proved effective against the new coronavirus in a study run by the National Institutes of Health. The nation’s top infectious diseases expert said the drug reduced the time it takes patients to recover, and it raised hopes that life around the world may eventually tiptoe back toward “normal.” “What you’re finding now is you have this debate between optimism and realism,” said Adam Taback, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it expects the health crisis to weigh on the economy “over the medium term,” as it promised to keep in place massive amounts of aid and interest rates at nearly zero. “Everything except equities is telling you things are not great,” Taback said. “This market is overly optimistic.” Gilead’s release about its remdesivir drug hit markets at the same moment as a government report showing the US economy shrank at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year. Job losses have exploded since early April, as layoffs sweep the nation following widespread stay-at-home orders, and economists expect to see even worse numbers for the second quarter of the year. The first quarter figure was “merely the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Reynolds, investment strategy officer at Glenmede, but stocks have been rallying over the last month as investors look beyond the current economic devastation and focus instead on the prospect of economies gradually reopening. Some US states and nations around the world have laid out plans to relax restrictions keeping people at home and businesses bereft of customers. Any new treatment for COVID-19 could also lower the dread so prevalent among households and businesses around the world, but what got the 31.4 percent rally for the S&P 500 started in late March was massive aid from the Federal Reserve and Congress. The Fed on Wednesday said it wouldn’t be pulling back on the aid anytime soon. The market’s easing pessimism about the economy’s path is perhaps most clear in how the smallest stocks have been performing. When recession worries were at their height, investors punished small-cap stocks and sent them to sharper declines than the rest of the market, in part on worries about their more limited financial resources, but the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped 4.8 percent Wednesday. It’s up 10.4 percent this week alone, more than double the gain for indexes of bigger stocks. The market’s gains were widespread and accelerated through the day. Big tech and communications stocks helped lead the way after Google’s parent company said its revenue was stronger in the first three months of the year than Wall Street was expecting. Alphabet jumped nearly 9 percent, which helped communications stocks in the S&P 500 rise 5 percent for one of the biggest gains among the 11 sectors that make up the index. Many professional investors are skeptical of the USmarket’s big rally. There’s still a lot of uncertainty about how long the recession will last. The vigorous rise for stocks over the last month also implies investors see a relatively quick rebound for the economy and profits following the current devastation, but it may take a while for households and businesses to get back to how things used to be. “My concern is that the market is starting to get a little bit more focused on the rewards and less focused on the risks right now,” said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ. “Maybe investors are getting a little too enthusiastic. I don’t think you just flip the switch and everybody goes back to work right away,” he said....."
Yeah, a relatively quick rebound!
American's are being led by the nose with these lies.
In July they will tell us wait until fall, then they will tell us this is harder than expected so wait until next year, and on and on.
You are being PLAYED, America!
"US economy shrank 4.8% in 1st quarter, biggest decline since Great Recession" by Heather Long The Washington Post, April 29, 2020
WASHINGTON — The fallout from the deadly coronavirus continues to weigh on the US economy, which contracted at a 4.8 percent pace from January through March, the deepest decline since the financial crisis, prompting the Federal Reserve to continue sweeping emergency measures for the foreseeable future.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the US economy is in ‘‘sharp decline’’ and that the central bank is committed to using its ‘‘full range of tools to support the US economy in this challenging time.’’
‘‘We will continue to use these powers forcefully, proactively, and aggressively until we are confident that we are solidly on the road to recovery,’’ Fed chair Jerome Powell said in a video news conference. ‘‘These are lending powers and not spending powers.’’
The US economy is in the midst of its worst crisis since the Great Depression. The new economic data shows consumer and business spending nose-diving in the first quarter, further confirmation that the economy was tanking in March, as much of the nation went into lockdown to stem the spread of the global pandemic.
The Fed said it will keep interest rates at zero ‘‘until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events’’ to make it easy for companies and households to borrow money. The central bank will also continue its bond-buying spree that has made it easier for large companies and cash-strapped states to get critical loans.
How is more debt and credit going to help?
Significantly, on Wednesday, Powell warned that the Fed believes the US economy faces a couple of different kinds of risks over the next year or longer. He talked about a slow recovery starting in coming months, as some parts of the economy reopen, but he also warned that chances are consumer spending won’t go back to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon. ‘‘Until [consumers] are confident the virus is well and truly under control, they will be somewhat reluctant to undertake certain kinds of activity,’’ Powell said.
We won't have any money, you a$$hole.
F**king Fed $cum.
So far, the Fed has pumped $2.3 trillion into the economy in the past six weeks, and analysts expect the Fed to bump that up to at least $5 trillion in aid by the end of the year. The amount is unprecedented and dwarfs the relief that Congress and the White House have provided so far.
That is going to make the money worthless, and promote the ca$hle$$ $ociety they want!
The Fed statement came hours after a Commerce Department report signaling that consumer spending tumbled 7.6 percent and business investment shrank 8.6 percent. The report on gross domestic product is the first comprehensive look at how painful the economic fallout from the pandemic has been. Although Americans flooded grocery stores to buy food and supplies, it was not nearly enough to offset lost spending on dining out, car sales, entertainment, and more.
The worst is yet to come, many analysts say. The second quarter is likely to show a decline of more than 30 percent — a level not seen since the Great Depression — as much of the economy entered a deep lockdown to encourage people to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. ‘‘There’s really no question about it. We are in a recession, and it’s going to be a sharp recession,’’ said economist Alicia Modestino, associate director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy.
Now they are saying the drop-off is more like 40%.
More than 26 million Americans have already lost their jobs and had to seek unemployment aid, and many businesses are on the verge of going bankrupt since they do not have enough money to sustain weeks without any customers or revenue. This is a ‘‘Depression-like shock,’’ said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at audit firm RSM. ‘‘Policymakers should be prepared to support other rounds of aid and stimulus for an economy that is going to be reeling for some time.’’
The $HOCK DOCTRINE!
That is what we are seeing with the looting and liability changes!
Even the White House agrees this is the worst decline for the US economy in decades. The question is how long the pain will linger for the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and for small business owners on the verge bankruptcy.
‘‘We are faced with the biggest shock that has hit this economy since the Great Depression, and you have to be frank with the American people about that,’’ Kevin Hassett, a senior economic adviser to President Trump, told reporters this week.
They continue to lie to us.
An official recession occurs when the economy experiences two consecutive quarters of negative growth. A depression is a sustained period of contraction and job loss that lasts for several years. Trump and many on Wall Street hope the government’s historic levels of aid can avert a depression.
The economic fate of the nation largely hinges on how quickly the United States can find a vaccine and do widespread testing for COVID-19, economists and health experts say. In the meantime, the federal government has approved more than $2 trillion in aid to try to help jobless people and shuttered businesses survive.
(Blog editor's response here)
More spending will be needed, economists across the political spectrum say.
‘‘This is the worst catastrophe in generations,’’ said Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard University professor and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. ‘‘It could take us 10 years to get back to where we started. That’s not out of the question at this point.’’
That $cum has been arguing for a ca$hle$$ $ociety for years.
It took three years to climb out of the Great Recession and more than a decade to recover from the Great Depression of the 1930s. Economists say the government was too slow to act and too stingy with aid in the past, mistakes that should not be repeated now.
We will need a war then, huh?
Economists across the political spectrum are urging the federal government to give more money to states, cities, and counties to avoid deep layoffs and keep critical services going. They also foresee a need for more testing and more help for people out of work.
‘‘We know Main Street recovers less quickly than Wall Street,’’ Modestino said. ‘‘It will take years to get back to where we were before with such low unemployment.’’
Powell has repeatedly said he will use the ‘‘full range of tools’’ he has to help revive the economy and ensure the health crisis does not turn into a financial crisis.
It already is, jerk!
The Fed’s swift interventions are widely credited with causing a stock market rally in April and returning many parts of the bond market to normal after they froze up in March.
‘‘Powell’s mantra is do whatever it takes for as long as it takes,’’ said Kathy Bostjancic, chief US financial economist at Oxford Economics. ‘‘There was a late reaction from Congress and the administration to the unfolding crisis. Powell sized up very quickly that the Fed needed to provide support.’’
--more--"
Here is your front-page pill:
"Coronavirus patients taking Gilead’s remdesivir recovered faster; Data from study of California company’s medicine could lead to emergency approval from the FDA" by Jonathan Saltzman Globe Staff, April 29, 2020
A closely watched clinical trial has turned up a glimmer of good news in the race to find a treatment for COVID-19, in the form of preliminary data showing that Gilead Sciences’s experimental drug remdesivir helped severely ill patients recover faster in the hospital.
The news came as the state reported the largest single-day increase of deaths from the outbreak, a rise of 252 fatalities to a total of 3,405, but the results of the clinical trial — even this very early snapshot — drew attention at the White House and helped spur a rally on Wall Street, buoying hopes at a time when every day is bringing more heartbreaking news.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Wednesday that patients who received remdesivir recovered 31 percent faster than those who got a placebo in the government-run trial. The median recovery time was 11 days for patients who received remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who were given a placebo.
“Although a 31 percent improvement doesn’t seem like a knockout 100 percent, it is a very important proof of concept because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the institute, said at the White House. “This is very optimistic.”
The Globe did a Q&A with that evil f**k as to whether sports will return this year, and the racist and cla$$ist eugenicist actually used the word segregation!
The trial also suggested that remdesivir, which is made by Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead, might improve prospects for survival. Eight percent of the 1,063 patients with severe lung disease from coronavirus who received the drug died, compared with 11.6 percent who took a placebo.
That difference wasn’t statistically significant, Fauci said, but overall, he said, the early findings were so encouraging that he was morally obliged to make them public before they were completely analyzed.
Fauci likened the data to that from a 1986 trial of the antiretroviral drug azidothymidine, or AZT, as a treatment for HIV. Fauci, whose AIDS research catapulted him to fame after he became director of the institute in 1984, said AZT provided modest benefits to patients but led to better drugs.
What he did was steal someone else's research!
You will also want to watch this interview with RFK, Jr.
Some health experts, including Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration under President Trump, were already recommending that the agency grant an emergency use authorization to make the drug available.
Trump, who was present when Fauci discussed remdesivir at the White House Wednesday, called it a “very positive event.”
“I think it’s a beginning,” he said. “I thought Tony explained it really well. It’s a beginning. It means you build on it.”
Then why are the wildly inaccurate and discredited models predicting a rise in deaths?
In recent weeks, there have been conflicting reports about the potential benefit of the drug, a broad-spectrum antiviral that yielded lackluster results when used to treat people with the Ebola virus. An early glimpse of Gilead’s study in severe COVID-19 patients, based on data from a trial at a Chicago hospital and recently reported by STAT, suggested that patients did better than expected on remdesivir.
Days later, however, a summary of results from a study in China that was inadvertently posted to the website of the World Health Organization showed that patients on the drug did not improve more than those who received a placebo.
Dr. Libby Hohmann, a principal investigator at the trial site at Mass. General, told the Globe last week that 49 COVID-19 patients hospitalized with severe lung problems participated in the study at her hospital. About half received remdesivir, and the other half got a placebo.
Although neither she nor the patients knew what they got, Hohmann said she saw signs that led her to suspect the drug helped seriously ill patients, especially if given early enough.
“I have some people who seemed to get significantly better and went home quickly,” said Hohmann, an associate professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Harvard Medical School, “and I also have patients who did not seem to improve and had a long ICU stay.”
Remdesivir has shown promise in test tube and animal studies on other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS, but the results were disappointing when it was used to treat Ebola patients, according to a 2018-19 study published in December in the New England Journal of Medicine. It has yet to be approved for any use.
There is no approved treatment for coronavirus, and a vaccine is expected to take at least 12 to 18 months to be developed and tested. In the meantime, scientists have been running clinical trials on a number of potential therapies.....
--more--"
Related:
"Gilead is no stranger to drug-pricing debates after political scrutiny over the price of its HIV medicines. The company has said it may spend $1 billion on remdesivir this year. The stock was up as much as 2.3 percent in early US trading Monday after the head of the World Health Organizations’ health emergencies program said it planned to engage in talks with the biotechnology company on how the drug may be made more widely available as more efficacy data becomes available. The stock closed the day at $80.25, up 38 percent. At $4,500 for a round of treatment for Covid-19, remdesivir, Gilead Sciences Inc.’s new medicine, could be reasonably priced and still generate over $2 billion in revenue for the biotech, according to analysts at Piper Sandler. That’s the maximum price the Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review recommended for a 10-day treatment of Gilead’s remdesivir, which received emergency approval from US regulators on Friday. Gilead has so far been quiet on its pricing plans and didn’t immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment. When you are talking about saving a life, that $4,500 “seems really reasonable,” Piper Sandler’s Tyler Van Buren said....."
Especially when you consider that we pay Iraqis and Afghanis about $2500 for the wrongful deaths of civilians, or used to, and all you are getting for yours is a $1200 Chump change check, Americans.
Also see:
Alexion buys San Francisco biotech for $1.4 billion
Makes your blood boil, doe$n't it?
"People are emptying pharmacy shelves of an over-the-counter heartburn drug in the hope it might fight the virus — before researchers have completed a trial of it for that use. After reports about a clinical trial of famotidine, the active ingredient in Pepcid, a best-selling antacid, for coronavirus patients at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, the drug was sold out or in low stock at most major retailers online Monday and Tuesday. Walgreens and CVS said that they have seen a run on the medicine and were working to resupply. It’s the latest example of drug hoarding amid a pandemic that has infected more than 1 million people in the United States and threatened to expose many more. Like hydroxychloroquine, which was in short supply after being touted by President Trump as a potential “game-changer” treatment for coronavirus, famotidine has proven uses and patients who need the drug for those purposes, but because it is being tested by researchers, people are preemptively stocking up — even though specialists advise the drug is unproven as a treatment for the coronavirus."
That's not why I have heartburn.
"Trying to dispel economic gloom, President Trump said Thursday he’s anticipating a major rebound in the coming months and a “spectacular” 2021. While economists are warning of serious long-term damage as the country plunges into recession because of the coronavirus, Trump is predicting a strong fourth quarter thanks to pent-up demand. “I think we can actually surpass where we were,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, while allowing he was relying on his gut. “I feel it,” he said. ‘‘I think sometimes what I feel is better than what I think, unfortunately or fortunately.” Trump’s comments came during a meeting with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, who exchanged praise with Trump, despite past criticism. Trump said Murphy had “stepped up to the plate,” while Murphy said Trump has delivered in his state’s darkest hour. The comments are the latest sign that Trump is trying to turn the page on the virus, even as the nation’s death toll continues to climb and jobless claims rise. Trump had been hoping to ride a strong economy into another four-year term, but the virus and the economic damage it has wrought upended that strategy, but economists have waned a sharp comeback may not be realistic. They point to expected flare-ups that could force reopened businesses to shut down again, concerns that employees and consumers afraid of contracting the virus could continue to stay home, and the fact that shuttered business may not open again. With so much of the economy paralyzed, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that economic activity will plunge this quarter at a 40 percent annual rate. Trump has nonetheless given consistently high marks to his administration’s handling of the virus, despite persistent criticism that he waited too long to act."
So we go from really rocking in July, according to Jared, to really rolling by September, according to Mnuchin, and yet with each passing day my pre$$ pushing the recovery back and back and back!
For every action, there is an oppo$ite reaction:
"Wall Street’s best month in 33 years closes with whimper" by Stan Choe and Alex Veiga Associated Press, April 30, 2020
The number 33 is some sort of Masonic mind-f**k number.
A crush of dismal data about the economy helped send markets lower Thursday, a meek ending to a historic, juggernaut month for stocks.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent after reports showed millions more US workers filed for unemployment benefits last week and the European economy crumpled to its worst performance on record last quarter, among other lowlights.
Related: "Europe is in the midst of a downturn not seen since the end of World War II, and the worst is yet to come, the president of the European Central Bank said Thursday after the release of a barrage of dismal economic data. In a bid to prevent another financial crisis, the bank’s Governing Council decided Thursday to effectively pay banks to lend money and the negative interest rate means that banks could borrow up to $3.3 trillion without having to pay all of the money back. In a statement Thursday, the ECB also said that it was prepared to further increase its purchases of government and corporate bonds, a form of money printing intended to keep market interest rates low and make it easier for businesses and consumers to get credit....."
What is it they say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
It was the biggest loss for the US stock market in more than a week, but it was still just a wiggle within the S&P 500’s best month in decades.
The index surged 12.7 percent in April, its biggest monthly gain since 1987. Before Thursday’s fall, it had been on track for its best month since 1974 as stocks recouped more than half their 34 percent plunge from February into late March on worries about a sudden, devastating recession.
“The disconnect between the market and the economy in April is about as wide as any of us have ever seen,” said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial.
Promises from the Federal Reserve to do whatever it takes to prop up the economy through the coronavirus crisis helped spark the rally, as did trillions in spending by Congress. The rally has continued recently on optimism that economies around the world are close to reopening. All but 27 stocks in the S&P 500 climbed during April.
For who?
The month’s gains for stocks came in the face of mayhem in the oil market, where prices in one corner dipped below zero for the first time, and as investors continued to rush into US government bonds in search of safety. Reports piled up by the day showing the severe hits the economy is taking from widespread stay-at-home orders meant to slow the spread of the virus.
It all left many professional investors skeptical about the steep rebound in stocks, whose rapid ascent resembles a “V” on a line chart following its equally sharp decline, when there’s still too much uncertainty about how long the recession will last.
“The rebound in April was an assumption that this was going to be a short, V-shaped recovery, both economically and at the corporate and business level,” said David Lyon, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “In our view, it probably has gotten a little ahead of itself. We think it’s going to be a longer and slower recovery.”
He said it could take a couple years before the economy and people’s behaviors get back to what they were like before the outbreak.
Goodbye, President Trump.
Thursday’s deluge of dour economic data — along with some investors looking to sell after weeks of gains — was enough to send 86 percent of stocks in the S&P 500 down and European stocks sharply lower.
“This is the saddest day for the global economy we have ever seen” in the 50 years that economists at High Frequency Economics have been following economic data, they wrote in a report. “The statistical offices of the economies we watch pumped out 19 economic reports overnight. They revealed historic declines of activity and surging unemployment on a scale we have never seen before. We are sad.”
How do you think we all feel?
Besides the jobless figures in the United States, which brought the total to 30 million in just six weeks, data released on Thursday showed that consumer spending plunged a record 7.5 percent in March from the prior month. That’s crucial for an economy where consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the total.
Stocks that tend to be most closely tied to the strength of the economy had the day’s biggest losses. Raw-material producers lost 3 percent for the largest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500. Financial and energy stocks were close behind.
“This is a bit of fear that there is not enough of a rebound to restart the parts of the economy that are not connected to work-from-home,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management.
Some big tech titans reported results for the first quarter that weren’t as bad as investors had braced for, which helped limit the market’s losses. Facebook rose 5.4 percent after it reported trends in advertising revenue stabilized in April following a steep drop-off in March. Microsoft added 1 percent after reporting better-than-expected results for the first quarter.
F**king Bill Gates' Micro$oft made money off this?
Once you get beyond the Zoom boom the call options abound because stolen Zoom logins were for sale on the dark Web.
Discouraging data came in on China’s economy, which is concerning for anyone expecting a first-in-first-out economic wave. “As we look to reopening here in the US, the hope is that activity bounces,” Haworth said. “China is certainly ahead of us in reopening and for them not to have a bounce a full month in is a little concerning for the market.”
We are going to lose the war.
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At least you will be able to go shopping at Macy's:
"Macy’s plans to reopen all of its 775 stores in 6 to 8 weeks" by Sapna Maheshwari New York Times, April 30, 2020
NEW YORK — Macy’s, one of the biggest department store chains in the United States, announced an ambitious plan Thursday to reopen all of its 775 locations, including Bloomingdales and Bluemercury, in the next six to eight weeks, the latest sign of how eager the nation’s largest retailers are to return to business.
During a presentation, the company’s chief executive, Jeff Gennette, sought to strike an optimistic tone about the health of Macy’s business — he noted that April sales were “stronger than we expected” — but he acknowledged that the company was simply not built to sustain a full closure of its stores for a prolonged period.
The presentation from Macy’s illustrated what a pandemic-era shopping experience might look like. There will be new protocols for fitting rooms and beauty counters, associates will wear company-issued cloth masks and sometimes gloves, hand sanitizer stations will be placed by elevators and escalators, and plexiglass barriers will be installed at cash registers. Stores will be filled with signs reminding customers to maintain 6 feet from each other.
Who would want to go shopping there?
Only a limited number of fitting rooms will be open and items that have been tried on will not be returned to the sales floor for at least 24 hours. Returned items will also be held for 24 hours.
Macy’s beauty employees will offer “no touch consultations” and suspend any “spa-like services.” Cards sprayed with fragrances will only be given out to customers at their request. Ear-piercing, bra-fitting, and alteration services will be temporarily suspended. Dress shirts will not be available to try on, and customers will need to use hand sanitizer before they try on jewelry or watches.
Macy’s made its announcement the same week that documents from Simon Property Group, the country’s biggest mall operator, outlined plans to reopen 49 shopping centers across 10 states between Friday and Monday. Macy’s said that roughly a quarter of the stores it planned to reopen Monday were in Simon Property malls.
The mall operator had also outlined plans for new signage to manage traffic flow and spacing, and said that security officers and employees would “actively remind and encourage shoppers” to maintain a proper distance from others and to refrain from shopping in groups. It will also adjust food court seating, shutter play areas and drinking fountains and tape off every other sink and urinal in restrooms.
Gennette closed the presentation by noting that Macy’s was still planning to hold its annual Fourth of July fireworks display in New York, as well as its Thanksgiving Day parade. There had been criticism of Macy’s for moving ahead with the fireworks show despite having furloughed employees, but Gennette said that it was a “misnomer” that such events lose money for the company, adding that Macy’s was working on how to hold the events safely.....
Yeah, they better let us out of lockdown so we can celebrate freedom, huh?
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Related:
"Anxious for an economic recovery, President Trump fielded Americans’ questions about decisions by some states to allow nonessential businesses to reopen while other states are on virtual lockdown due to the coronavirus. After more than a month of being cooped up at the White House, Trump returned from a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland and participated in a “virtual” town hall, hosted Sunday night by Fox News Channel, from inside the Lincoln Memorial. He pushed for an economic reopening, one his advisers believe will be essential for his reelection chances this November. “I’ll tell you one thing. We did the right thing and I really believe we saved a million and a half lives,” the president said, but he also broke with the assessment of his senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, saying it was “too soon to say" if the federal government was overseeing a “success story," but many public health experts believe that cannot be done safely until a vaccine is developed. Roughly 30.3 million people have filed for unemployment aid in the six weeks since the outbreak forced employers to shut down and slash their workforces. It was the worst string of layoffs on record. Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, on Sunday predicted a “spectacular 2021” — with “the right set of policies” — on top of a rebound from July through December of this year....."
Now Kudlow is saying no recovery until next year.... maybe!
At least the PPP has been fixed:
SBA, Treasury say disparities in business relief funds have been corrected
If they say it, it must be true!
Program is now a rou$ing $uce$$ as venture capitalists are taking extra precautions.
"McConnell now open to state aid in next virus relief bill" by Lisa Mascaro Associated Press, April 29, 2020
WASHINGTON — Reversing course, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he is open to considering additional funds for state and local governments in the next coronavirus relief bill as Democrats seek more than $500 billion to cover costs of police, fire, and other front-line workers, but McConnell insisted the new package must include federal liability protections from what he warned will be an avalanche of lawsuits against businesses that reopen during the pandemic.
He's holding states hostage to bu$ine$$ immunity as he pushes CORPORATE FA$CI$M in its PURE$T FORM!
The about-face from the Republican leader comes after governors across the country heaped criticism on his suggestion that states should simply be allowed to go bankrupt.
Chief among them was New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who urged the nation’s political leaders on Wednesday to support the states, including thousands of doctors and nurses who descended on New York to help in the crisis.
“You have human suffering, you have people dying. You can’t stop the politics, even in this moment?” Cuomo, a Democrat, said during a press briefing.
As Congress delves into the next round of aid, Democrats are putting forward their own priorities, including a new effort Wednesday to federalize the nation’s medical supply chain.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said new rules are needed to prevent the favoritism some argue the Trump administration used in handing out vital gear during the health care crisis. The proposal would rely on the Defense Production Act to ensure adequate supplies.
President Trump’s “failed leadership” during the crisis “has put our frontline health care workers in a scavenger hunt for their lives and forced Governors to bid against each other for desperately needed resources,’’ Schumer said in a statement.
McConnell said Wednesday as the new package takes shape he wants to prevent “the second pandemic — which is going to be lawsuits against doctors, nurses, hospitals, and brave business people opening up.”
House and Senate leaders are reaching beyond the nearly $3 trillion already provided to fight the pandemic crisis even as they face the stark, startling reality that Congress may not be able to fully resume for a year.
Maybe they should disband permanently and return D.C. to the states.
McConnell is reconvening the Senate next week, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dropped plans for her chamber to return after a revolt from lawmakers and a warning from the Capitol physician that the health risks of reconvening the 400-plus representatives were too great.
“We’ll practice the proper safeguards,’’ McConnell said. ‘‘We’re not going to sit on the sidelines.”
Senate Republicans are planning to hold their regular Tuesday lunch, in what will perhaps be one of the largest gatherings in the area.
McConnell’s office would not say if he consulted with the Capitol physician on his plans to resume Senate operations.
It’s not just the elected officials at risk. The US Capitol is a throwback of crowded hearing rooms, packed hallways, and thousands of congressional staff crunched in office cubicles and cafeteria lunch lines — all unwelcome in the new era of social distancing. It additionally relies on an army of cooks, custodians, electricians, and police, who keep the iconic domed building and sprawling maze of offices running.
The House and Senate sergeants at arms extended a halt in public tours through mid-May.
Closing normal operations for weeks, months, or even longer seems unthinkable to some, more dire than actions taken during the deadly 1918 Spanish flu or the Sept. 11 attack. There really is no direct comparison in US history.
Trump scoffed from the White House that the House members were “enjoying their vacation.”
While frustrated lawmakers long for what’s being lost as a co-equal branch of government, many are also older and in high-risk categories that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19. Some care for children and families. Most have to commute from their states while airlines are running fewer flights.....
I don't feel one bit sorry for those criminal looters, sorry.
--more--"
Related:
"You can’t sue a virus when you lose your job, a deal goes south, or a family member gets sick, but companies? They could be fair game. As business leaders contemplate the thawing of this economic deep-freeze, they might want to brace for a flood of litigation that could follow. The trickle has already started: A lawsuit is filed against Walmart over a worker’s death in Illinois. The owner of a lifestyle center in Rhode Island takes tenants to court over missed lease payments. Amazon faces potential class-action litigation accusing it of price gouging. Yes, most disputes will be worked out. After all, it’s usually in the best interests of both sides to avoid litigation, a maxim that might be more true during a global pandemic; however, attorneys at Boston law firms say they expect the legal tussles to increase significantly, particularly after the largely shuttered state courts are fully reopened. Elizabeth Levine, an employment lawyer at Goulston & Storrs, said the coronavirus creates a new kind of “minefield for employers.” Here’s a quick rundown of the places where the bombs could go off....."
What is with the DAMN WAR TERMINOLOGY!?
They are fair game, like Deep State operative Valerie Plame?
The mentally ill eliti$t mind$et even $uggests you sue your sick family member, wow, in addition to contractual disputes, discrimination, public health concerns, higher-ed dilemmas, securities issues, and deals gone bad as navigating this new world order becomes an all-consuming endeavor and as government officials are marshaling their forces to provide lifelines for small businesses that might not survive the coronavirus crisis, but are they reaching all the ones that need the help the most? Probably not."
"Smallest lenders get their own time slot to seek relief loans" by Mark Niquette Bloomberg News, April 29
The US Small Business Administration, under pressure to dole out relief funds to mom-and-pop firms in dire need of cash, gave small lenders a dedicated time slot of eight hours on Wednesday to submit the applications on behalf of their clients.
The agency took the measure following outrage over larger firms including high-profile restaurant chains getting loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, that is dedicated to shore up small businesses during the coronavirus outbreak.
The SBA accepted only applications from lenders with assets of less than $1 billion between 4 p.m. New York time and 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. The agency said in an e-mail that it and the US Treasury Department “will evaluate whether to create a similar reserved time again in the future.”
The agency is seeking to improve access to its overwhelmed loan-processing system amid a flood of applications as the program relaunched Monday with an additional $310 billion after the initial round of $349 billion ran out of money. While trying to process an unprecedented amount of money in just days, the SBA has been facing complaints from all sides — from business owners to bankers and lawmakers.
After lenders of all sizes complained that the SBA system was inaccessible or kicked them out when the program restarted on Monday, the agency told lenders on Tuesday they could not use robotic systems to help submit applications so the platform “will be more reliable, accessible, and equitable for all small businesses.” The SBA is also limiting the number of applications any one lender can submit each hour.
A coalition of trade groups representing the interests of thousands of US banks and credit unions urged the SBA on Tuesday to fix its application system or to explain the problems directly to entrepreneurs.
The data SBA has reported so far suggest small lenders are getting through. Of the more than $52 billion in loan applications processed as of early afternoon on Tuesday, almost $40 billion, or 76 percent, came from small and medium-size lenders, SBA said. Congress had set aside $30 billion for the smallest financial institutions to disburse, and that amount had nearly been reached on Tuesday, the agency said, but the latest measure of dedicating a time slot for smaller banks may not be enough to appease lenders.
Why do they need to be "appea$ed?"
“This I don’t agree — many small businesses went to banks over $1 billion to help provide for their family,” Consumer Bankers Association chief executive Richard Hunt said in a tweet. “There was already a carve out for small banks and now this. Don’t play favorites with small businesses. All need a lifeline right now,” but it’s a welcome attempt to get loans to the self-employed, independent contractors and smallest firms, according to Paul Merski of the Independent Community Bankers of America. “It’s a smart move, particularly after the backlash of large businesses getting these loans,” Merski said.
Meanwhile lawmakers are complaining that big banks and large companies are getting help at the expense of small firms and are calling for investigations. Democratic Senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Sherrod Brown of Ohio sent a letter to SBA and Treasury on Tuesday saying applications for loans of less than $1 million should be processed first.
PFFFFT!
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Related:
A closed retail store in Chicago. A Small Business Administration program dedicated to shore up small businesses during the coronavirus outbreak has been criticized for giving loans to larger firms. (Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press/Associated Press)
J.Crew is the first major retailer to file for bankruptcy since most stores were forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press/Associated Press).
The future is not looking so Bright now, is it?
Well, maybe for $ome:
"Treasury says April-June borrowing will be a record $2.99 trillion" by Martin Crutsinger Associated Press, May 4, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Monday that it will need to borrow a record $2.99 trillion during the current April-June quarter to cover the cost of the government’s various pandemic rescue efforts.
Why not make it an even $3 trillion?
This quarter’s borrowing will far surpass the Treasury’s previous record, $569 billion in October-December 2008, when the government was dealing with the shock waves from that year’s financial crisis.
This quarter’s extraordinary sum also dwarfs the $1.28 trillion the government borrowed in the bond market for all of 2019.
Treasury said the borrowing is needed to fund the nearly $3 trillion the government has approved for supporting workers and businesses with direct economic payments, the Paycheck Protection Program, and other efforts.
In addition, the government needs to borrow to cover the shortfall in revenue that will occur because the Trump administration has delayed the deadline for tax payments this year from April to June.
“Borrowing needs are skyrocketing as Treasury needs cash to fund stimulus measures and to compensate for a plunge in revenues caused by massive job losses,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, an economist at Oxford Economics.
In a stark demonstration of how the government’s financial situation has changed, three months ago before the virus caused widespread shutdowns in the United States, Treasury was projecting that it would be able to pay down $56 billion in debt during the quarter.
Treasury also projected that it will have to borrow an additional $677 billion in the July-September quarter.
The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the government will run a record budget deficit of $3.7 trillion this year. CBO is projecting the overall economy will shrink by a record 40 percent at an annual rate in the current April-June quarter.
The numbers are mind-boggling when it comes to this odious debt.
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Related:
Stocks gain as oil extends rally for a fourth day
That was after the New York Times caught Russia in a lie!
Also see:
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, wore a mask to protect himself and others from COVID-19, as he arrived to bring the Senate into session at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., May 4, 2020. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images).
Look at the f**king GANG$TERS!
Part of the COVID fallout is that public access will be limited, including at public hearings, as the thieves and looters in government will be even less accountable to the people.
It is going to be the same with the courts:
"The Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Insurers are entitled to the money under a provision of the “Obamacare” health law that promised the companies a financial cushion for losses they might incur by selling coverage to people in the marketplaces created by the health care law, the justices said by an 8-1 vote. The program only lasted three years, but Congress inserted a provision in the Health and Human Services Department’s spending bills from 2015 to 2017 to limit payments under the “risk corridors” program. Both the Obama and Trump administrations had argued that the provision means the government has no obligation to pay, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her opinion for the court that the congressional action was not sufficient to repeal the government’s commitment to pay."
The Corporate Court comes together on something!
So who was the dissenter and why?
Alito looks like the only judge who is not compromised -- at least for now -- and the coronavirus should also put an end to the town meeting as the Globe is hoping it’s consigned forever to the dust heap of history (according to Jennifer C. Braceras, the director of Independent Women’s Law Center).
How is that for democracy, huh?
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
For the first time in 400 years, Mass. lawmakers vote remotely
Jones caved.
Trump’s judicial nominee clashes with Democrats over his comments critical of health care law
Supreme court divided over Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate
Ghoulish photo there!
"The Treasury Department is detailing how it plans to borrow a record-breaking $2.99 trillion in debt this quarter which will include issuing for the first time since 1986 a 20-year bond. The Treasury faces an unprecedented need for credit because of the trillions of dollars the government is spending to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, and the nation is likely headed for a deep recession. Treasury officials said Wednesday that the 20-year bond will be auctioned on May 20 with the goal of raising $20 billion. That will be followed by $17 billion auctions in June and July."
Related:
"Stocks fell on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the market to its first loss in three days, after more depressing data rolled in on the devastation sweeping the global economy, but the market’s losses would have been much worse if not for continued gains for technology stocks. Momentum for Microsoft, Apple, and other tech stocks has proven to be nearly unstoppable this year, even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, and more gains for them almost singlehandedly kept Wall Street steady for much of Wednesday’s trading. A report Wednesday morning showed private US employers eliminated an astonishing 20.2 million jobs last month. It sets a dour stage for Friday’s more comprehensive monthly jobs report from the U.S. government. Across the Atlantic, the European Union said Wednesday that it’s bracing for a “recession of historic proportions” amid restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. Financial stocks weighed particularly heavy on the market, and JPMorgan Chase fell 1.9 percent, while Wells Fargo lost 2.7 percent. Banks have been some of the hardest-hit stocks this year, largely on worries that all the job losses caused by the recession will saddle them with mountains of bad loans....."
Oh, the poor banks!
Also see:
Businesses cut more than 20 million jobs in April
CVS profit jumps as people restocked before heading inside
Gap to reopen up to 800 stores this month
MGM Resorts says furloughed employees could be gone for good
Uber cutting 3,700 workers as rides disappear
Disney lost $1.4b in the first quarter
FCC fines Sinclair Broadcast Group a record $48m
Head of Samsung apologizes for scandals The de facto head of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, apologized on Wednesday for the corruption and union-busting scandals that have bedeviled his conglomerate
Justice Department investigates Blue Flame Medical after claims it failed to provide masks to Maryland, California
"The state of Maryland has opened a temporary morgue at an ice skating and hockey facility to store bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said. About 55 bodies have been taken to the ice rink facility since it opened on April 17 and roughly 30 bodies were there on Wednesday, said Del. Mary Lehman, a Democrat whose district includes Laurel. Lehman said she was given the information by a liaison from the state health department. The 150,000-square-foot facility includes one outdoor rink, an Olympic-size rink, and two NHL-size rinks, according to its website. The state’s action echoed that taken by officials in Spain who turned a public ice rink on the outskirts of Madrid into a makeshift morgue in March to aid the capital city’s overwhelmed funeral service. Maryland reported Wednesday that 1,338 coronavirus deaths in the state have been confirmed by laboratories, and that an additional 99 were probably caused by COVID-19."
Spain averted a political crisis because it extended its lockdown.
Trump contradicts nurse who reports shortages of protective gear
COVID-19 task force not dismantling, just refocusing While the task force has already been meeting less frequently, its medical experts, particularly Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, have emerged as among the most trusted voices.
The Globe blows its own Horn about ‘Mourning in America’ because Trump’s response to the coronavirus has struck a nerve and it captures the heartache of a nation.
