the con is on. this is just welfare for the investor class. These moves will do absoluitely nothinmg to pull up the supply chains needed to meet demamd...just like the US was powerless to do much about the oil embargoes of the 1970s.
Again, welfare for the connected investor class. Scam Supremo.
2
How much cheaper can money get for the investor class and speculators?
How come free money for banks through the fed discount window doesn't translate into lower credit card rates or consumer loans?
The Fed should tie cheap money to a decline in consumer interest rates, otherwise it just constipates the economy further.
We need to bring back national usury laws and cap bank rates on consumer lending.
Tax cuts and cheap money for banks hasn't led to more business investment or r&d or infrastructure...just more stock buybacks to up dividends for investors and bonuses for top management.
Rome is burning and cutting already low rates is just adding more fiddlers to the fire.
7
So many of the rallies and gains since the Great Recession have had little to do with economic fundamentals. Many times the stock market has reacted with a rally to bad news because it was fed by speculation that the Fed would lower rates, or expand some other support. T
his is the same backwards-thinking that got them into the Great Recession to begin with, and it would seem none of these Wall Street geniuses recognizes that the Fed is practically out of ammunition. Interest rates are under 2% right now after an 11-year expansion, compared to a much more typical 5+% rate in prior cycles. And here we are with a potential catalyst for the next recession. What in the world is Wall Street cheering for right now?
5
I also asked the same question. Cheering what at the same time as news of many deaths due to Novel Coronavirus in our soil ?
Sounds like socialism to me.
5
@cbarber right. and yet Bernie will be painted even brighter as a whack job by the new coalition of Joe, Pete, and Amy. I can't help but think they are doing trump's work for him.
3
@coale johnson
They aren't but you are. Trump's a scary clown and Bernie is a charlatan.
Socialism is what China has: great economy and fascist politics. Sanders people are mirror image of Trump's people. Red Guard out to purge dissidents and opponents.
Sanders can quit and retire with tens of millions in campaign funds. He's a millionaire with bespoke hairshirts and free lunch for everyone.
He savaged Hillary for his own ambition and now will sabotage democracy by insuring 4 more years of Trump. He'll go home to one of his three houses in Vermont while his wife flies first class around the world, like they did flying off to visit the Pope on a campaign-funded "vacation" in 2016.
Poor Bernie railing against big money in politics but happy to con tens of millions from his online mob.
The harder they come, the harder they fall.
4
Central banks do not practice medicine,
Central banks do not make vaccines,
Central banks do not bring the dead back to live !
Economists and bankers should stop managing a Novel Coronavirus epidemic,
It will only back fire, like what happened to the donkey that tried to do the dog’s work when a robber entered the home !
Poor donkey was badly beaten up for the terrible noise it made in VAIN !
3
There is something thing for Central banks to do, they can contribute by disinfecting the money, badly infected for many reasons including laundering in dirty swamps and also contact with people infected with Novel Coronavirus as well as legacy viruses !
2
Trump says the Fed should bail out the economy. Seriously? Does anyone even knows what that means? Sounds like more corporate socialism! Free money, but, for who? Is it going to those who can't afford to stay home or pay their medical bills if and when they become sick? Or get laid off when business' slow down? Or run out of sick days? There is so much ambiguity as to who pays for what. I have yet to hear any political official say 'don't worry about the cost... your covered'. Instead, I hear them admit its going to be expensive.
In the past whenever the Fed lowers the interest rate all the debt ridden borrowers rush out and borrow and refinance to get every nickel to prop up their 'sick' balance sheets. Wall St. buys in and the 'economy' survives for another day. The budget deficit balloons and once more the gov't is strapped for cash and unable to provide the services to the public.
I guess the question for me is why does the Fed need to lower rates? It doesn't need to lower rates to buy medical equipment, or pay for medical tests. It doesn't need to do it to reimburse business for extended medical leave, or reimburse states for propping up their unemployment funds.
4
Just scared of the dude in the White House ! Fed chairman already had enough nagging during the Irrational Exuberance peaks of meaningless stock inflation !
Just short term profit taking. If the market is manned by so called realist, then reality dictates further declines in the global economy and further slides in confidence that shows itself as the Dow Jones average.
1
FYI, when the fed acts it’s more likely to be to ‘support’ the bond market - the hangover from 2008 subprime and global deflation, driven by lower labor costs is real...
A short term bump? This virus would not have this big effect on the markets if we had a functioning government.
4
Wow ! Good Government ? Let us wait until the bankruptcy declared by the King of Bankruptcies, one after another !
2
The smart ones shorted the market a month ago, and/or sold. Then they bought big on Friday and will sell and buy and sell for a while. The market is almost entirely moved by what people think might happen, not what happens. The world will soon function with the coronavirus and adapt until it produces a vaccine and figures out how to contain it. With 7 billion people on this planet, a few more thousand dying from a flu bug does not make a tangible difference. If interest rates go down another point it will be because of Trump's juicing the market, not the coronavirus. Trump is a master of the sizzle or the phony economy. He has done nothing but create apprehension and promises. The Fed sees this.
3
Stocks rebound.
Democrats and ‘progressives’ express dismay.
(Of course they do...)
2
Stock price matters to only those who own stocks which is a tiny percentage. But you probably already knew that as much as you knew the stock market is not the economy.
2
Sad that the supposed richest country in the world has leaders interested only in getting their daily fix of gambling and doing whatever it takes to keep it going. White collar junkies. Who cares about the suffering of the poor? They'll never read how they're discarded. No wonder Sanders has such a following. This move is sure to propel him even more. Vote blue 4 sure. This is completely disgusting.
1
So Trump continues to press for lower and even negative interest rates. Dare we imagine that his vast financial empire is very interest rate sensitive? Oh, no. He would never put his personal interests above those of the country.
7
The real story in financial markets over recent weeks is not the stock market. It is the bond market.
Look at U.S. Treasury yields.
- https://www.cnbc.com/us-treasurys/
- The 10-year Treasury yield is hitting all-time lows.
- The 1-yr, 2-yr, 3-yr, and 5-yr Treasuries are now yielding below 1.00%!
There is an old saying that the bond market is smarter than the stock market. The bond market is telling us that the economic expansion that began in June 2009 is nearing its end. We are headed for, or possibly already in, a recession.
7
The ignorance and disdain towards the markets and our economy shown in comments here is nothing short of shocking.
3
What if all the little guys stopped putting money in the markets in their IRAs and 401ks and did what people have done in much more economically restricted societies? Pool it, and invest in local initiatives. This used to be how community banks made money. It's pointless to keep getting sheared by the big players. This is no way to plan for retirement.
4
Once again ... most of the markets are driven by state of he art robotic computers, that trade hundreds of millions of shares a day to make a penny here and a penny there.
So the POSSIBILITY of governments cutting interest rates [how many countries have much more to do there?] or adding a few hundred billion more in debt means those system buy at $1 and sell at $1.02 and then buy at $1.04 and sell at $1.06 ....
They really are so refined as not to judge just by other trades but by a hugely complicated input of of data, broad and minute, from around the world.
And flip to the downside in milliseconds.
2
This is likely a dead cat bounce. Slightly buoyed by the prospects of a Centrist Democrat nominee that inspires hope.
And can hire a strong committed for the long term, team.
We are 3+triilion more in debt in this Trumpian economy. It will take years to recover from all the messes trump will leave our next president and administration. Healthcare, CDC investment, infrastructure, education, climate change, etc., etc. all requires investment. With massive long term benefits.
See the forest through the trees. This economic model of market bouncing is not seeing the long term bigger most stable picture. The TV Trumpian administration was a failed economic experiment.
5
The Fed has already ballooned the money supply to such a degree that some sort of correction is needed. If they now promise to prevent that correction by pumping up the money supply even more, when the inevitable correction finally gets going there'll be no stopping it and the economic and political damage will be profound. It would probably be better if the Fed backed off and let stock deflate to some extent.
6
Can the Central Banks reopen supply chains or make the virus go away so people can travel?
5
Maybe central banks will hire well qualified medical professionals, unlike that Seema Verma and her Medicare mantra to create a sick nation !
If we didn't have a stable genius in charge, I'd be very worried.
6
@JR Mr. Ed's got this one!
2
I haven’t tallied these comments into a group that blame the poor for being poor and a group that have empathy and compassion for those who have less resources. That said, the number of commenters in the former group is entirely too high.
I am eternally frustrated by people who lack compassion for those who are struggling to just get by, many of whom also believe in huge tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. Instead of thinking how much do I want, let’s focus on how much do I need. We teach this lesson to our children; it is equally relevant as adults.
6
I think the whole thing is rigged. This whole market has made no sense at all. It goes down and things like gold and silver go down with it. Counter intuitive. Then it swings back up again. What's so different for that to occur? Don't blame it on the media again.
2
What is sad is, taking a few days off work last week and today to trade options, I made more than multiple servers or janitors combined will in years.
Sitting at a computer. Zero effort but around 5 button clicks.
And it is IRA, no tax till withdraw.
God bless America. Only here can that happen.
2
@Scott ...yes, sad but true...
1
@Scott Actually, it can happen anywhere in the many financial and commodity markets of the world, America or otherwise.
This is the result when you have a dictator in the White House.
Knowing that his re-election will depend for a large part on the economy and support from CEO who keep his re-election bank filled to the max, dictators can dictate the Fed to pump up the stock market.
When he demands, they will jump to the ready no matter that the stock market is the last thing that will make people feel safe about the corona virus.
So again Trumps demands are all about him and not about the country.
When will his sleepwalking followers finally wake up and stop being helpless sheep?
7
This rally proves the idiocy about treating Wall Street as a human entities that acts rationally in relation to events. Our societies foundation should not be based on speculation.
3
@Mathias
Yes. If they're worried about a run on the market then close the exchange. I think it was in Maureen Dowd's recent article where she called the Fed's interference socialism for the rich.
7
Yes, god forbid that the stock market should be allowed to be affected by conditions in the real world. What percentage of stocks are owned by the top 5%? Welcome to the "free" market.
8
This is why economics is a soft science. A lot of people I know in accounting and finance industries like to tell themselves that economics is a hard science based on math and figures and facts. But it’s very, very squishy.
My proof: nothing has categorically changed from last week to this week. In fact, the virus appears to be spreading even more than it was last week. Also, the central banks haven’t as a matter of fact done anything to help yet. And, even if they do further make cuts to the prime rate, how far do “investors” expect them to go from rates that are already historically low?
In a hard science environment, intangible words and statements don’t create change. Saying you’ll titrate a solution does not produce a neutralization reaction. The chemicals sitting on the table don’t care about the words that a politician says. The act, the physical act of adding a titrant, produces a neutralization reaction. The very fact that the markets responded to a politician saying they would do something without actually doing anything is proof that economics is just as much of a soft science as art history. I know that’s going to hurt some feelings, but it’s the truth.
8
I don't believe COVID‑19 will be influenced by an interest rate cut just as I don't believe COVID-19 will disappear when the weather warms. To make Fed policy all about the stock market is irresponsibility writ large
The primary responsibility of the federal reserve bank is to regulate the growth of the money supply not to pump up stock prices.
7
not getting lost or entering into inquiries on disentangling global public health problems ,lowering interest rates part of rather ad hoc monetary policy ,
just a sign or incentive to trust the administration by continuing international trade i.c. international transportation and distribution adjusting gears .
Trump has no interest in the virus. He regards it as a variant of the common cold, which at worst might produce a few thousand more deaths in the U.S. this year in what remains of the flu season.
The deaths themselves would mean nothing to him.
What matters to him is the stock market because the continuation of his Presidency now almost totally depends on it.
When Trump came along, businesses and many well-to-do people saw a con-artist who would give them lower taxes; was promising to spend lavishly on the military and the infrastructure; had no interest in controlling budget deficits and inflation; would cast a cold eye on the need for health and safety measures in the workplace; and would ignore the effects of climate change.
Well, the chickens have come home to roost; and what he and Americans foolish enough to believe in his methods have succeeded in producing are vastly overheated stock prices that -- to the surprise of no one familiar with the ups and downs of the stock market -- have been collapsing.
Today’s “recovery” notwithstanding, the markets will soon be collapsing again
The coronavirus is guilty of nothing more than being a virus.
We will survive it.
Trump -- virtually single-handed -- has collapsed the stock market.
He will collapse it again.
13
@A. Stanton
I hear you but I don't give Trump much credit for the markets. Stock values are based on reality, he's just been enjoying continual growth, much of which was caused by stock buybacks thanks to his big tax cut. The markets are going down now because of supply chain issues. It's hard to sell anything if you can't make it or move it market.
2
One of the links in the article is about how to avoid snake oil and scams
We need not look any further than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
8
The Fed may want to appear that it is doing "something" and lower rates. But that won't help the supply chain and it won't help people buy groceries. It also further reduces the Fed's ability to do anything meaningful if the economy tanks and it looks like it could if consumption plummets.
6
Don't worry, the fed's got their back. Promise. Now, let's see those taxes.
6
The White House has no grasp on reality. Even a 0% interest rate won't convince people to buy things when they are worried about their health and safety. They will hold on to their money. It's a basic tenet of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Safety first, then vacations and yachts.
9
Buy low. Sell high. Bet Trump’s buddies made a bunch of money today.
13
@GC
You didn’t buy last week?
You should have.
1
There are a couple of problems with the Powell Put---(1)this is a supply shock, not a demand shock, and (2) Powell used up a fair amount of ammo last year trying to save the economy from the effects of Trump's trade wars. But I'm sure Powell will do whatever he can to pump up the stock market, which has become the FED's primary goal.
9
What an inane headline! Stocks surge as central banks vow to act on coronavirus. How exactly will the central banks act? Will they build hospital space? Bury the dead? Re-establish Chinese supply chains? Or will they just "vow" to act? Did the stocks that plummeted last week actually surge because of this "vow." Did they plummet last week because there was no "vow?" What is the argument that correlates and connects this disparate list of events? Except for the one fact, that stocks surged today, this is fundamentally dishonest and irresponsible journalism.
20
The Fed and the Supreme court are the backstops for the lack of compromise and cooperation on the facts of the state of our nation by the political parties especially the Republicans. They are asked to provide band-aid solutions (because they can't be voted out) that our chaotic executive and legislative branches abdicated responsibility to our nations well being has been hoisted upon. The Fed can't legislate fiscal responsibility they can merely respond to the results of fiscal stupidity.
5
I would make a banner of this comment and hang it on Wall Street and relevant sites. Americans being so politically illiterate, sadly, allow such heineous people to remain in power. Bailing out the very ones who prey on honest hard working people ravishing them from home and livelihood. Vote Blue 2020 in full force!
1
Absolutely amazing that most Times readers would rather see the markets crash than see the President successful.
Sad people.
2
Why would they care as the majority has no money to invest in anything but paying their rent, see if they can afford insurance this month, if they can pay for medication and their children’s education.
This economy hasn’t helped them in the least, they are living on the edge of the Trump abyss and he doesn’t care, he wants them to stay there to have power over them.
What is really sad that your mind seem to be only on the stock market and don’t seem to care what is happening all over the world.
You are oblivious to what really is important to most people.
5
@John Gilday: If that’s true ( which I think it is not), those Times readers took a page out og McConnell’s book.
4
@John Gilday Sorry if you don't want to hear the truth, but it is the truth and pretending it doesn't exist won't change it. Trump did this to himself. This is all on him. Trump said, "I alone can fix it." Instead, he broke it. And he did it by himself.
4
Whistling past the graveyard, propelled by greed.
9
What two-word phrase do you fear most?
"Cancer diagnosis"?
"President Sanders"?
"Trump Reelected"?
"Fatal accident"?
"Mortgage foreclosure"?
"Medical bankruptcy"?
No... the two words to fear most are "margin call."
5
One of the criticisms of the Trump tax cut was that the deficits created by the loss of revenue would handcuff the Government and the Fed's ability to respond to a serious recession. Last year, rates were cut by the Fed twice to bolster the stock market so that Trump would look good. Trump has continued to brag about how strong the economy is, yet he keeps badgering the Fed to lower interest rates, whenever the stock market dips a little bit. Deficit spending and Fed intervention with interest rate cuts are tools reserved to deal with recession. It is wildly inappropriate and an example of Corporate socialism for the Government to be using emergency measures to prop up the stock market for an autocratic President in an election year.
16
The Stock Market correction is not over. The world is entering into a recession, and the Market will follow.
The Coronavirus/COVID crisis continues to worsen, not only in America, but across the world.
America is the Indispensable Nation, and only American leadership, working closely with our allies and trading partners, can fix these problems.
But President Trump does not play well with others. I do not believe that full recovery is possible until after Trump is defeated in the November election.
13
@AKJersey
Trump's m.o. is to shoot the messenger and throw someone under the bus. Everyone who was against Trump in 2016 said he is not fit for office and I think we're going to see lots of evidence of that right shortly.
3
I baffle that the Street puts so much faith in the Fed to solve the Coronavirus issues with manufacturing, trade and contracting economies. There’s already little room to lower rates (thank you, trump), and the Fed isn’t going to fill Maersk ships with containers of goods. In the face of a potential pandemic, movement by the Fed and ECB et al seems unuseful. Except for donald, does anyone in the banking and bond systems really want to experiment with negative interest rates?
5
Just remember, a drop of 13% means you need to rise 26% to get back where you were.
2
@Jim C
0.87*1.15 ≈ 1.00, i.e. 15% gain will recover a 13% loss.
5
@Jim C
You need to check your math.
6
@Jim C:
"Just remember, a drop of 13% means you need to rise 26% to get back where you were."
That's just WRONG.
Suppose, for simplicity, that there is a stock or market-metric at 100 on Thursday at 4pm. If it falls 13% on Friday, its ending value is 87.
If on Monday the metric returns to a closing value of 100, that increase is 13/87 = 14.9%.
Maybe you should stay out of the stock market until you can do basic arithmetic.
8
Pathetic! Trump exploits Corona virus fears to seek another rate cut, hoping to manage risk to his political future.
Any additional rate cuts should be reserved for reviving our economy from the depths of the next recession, still to come.
9
Prime example of attribution bias. The market could be reacting to any/all of the following:
Higher probability of Sanders not being the nominated Democrat;
Better information coming out regarding Corona Virus, specifically that cases may have been in our population for weeks and we didn't even notice, implying that the impact of the virus is mild;
Short sellers taking profits;
Buyers recognizing buying opportunity;
or Fed Stimulus.
4
If you increase the money supply (by lowering interest rates) at the same time as productivity is challenged (by the virus), inflation seems more likely than any increase in economic activity. Inflation won't happen instantly--it will take a few months--but it won't be pleasant.
What will the Fed do then?
4
Irrational exuberance! The economy can't be "bailed out" if the disease has drastic effects on the labor force and supply chains and kickstarts a serious world-wide recession. Let's hope that doesn't happen. But who can possibly have any confidence in Trump or Minuchin who are thinking only about the very short term and themselves.
5
I do wonder if the markets are not also buoyed by the increasing hope that adult leadership has a better chance of coming to our American Government in Joe Biden. Unfortunately, Bernie scares them. Today we had a some synergistic effect of: the Virus isn't quite so bad and neither is their outlook on the next President being a more stable person. The Amy and the Pete endorsements seemed to bump things higher again.
3
I agree with Krugman-think. The Fed, and probably the Central Banks in general probably don't have a lot of "bottom" left to lower rates for the stimulation of speculation. And when they do, they are going to limit themselves even more. Also, I'm not sure that hammer is really the tool for this situation. The issue is goods aren't being produced, and are not moving because of a pandemic. Are lower interests going to fix that? How? We won't even mention that the stock market is NOT the economy.
8
So exactly how does a stock market buoyed by fed manipulation of interest rates that are already at an all time low help the average American family?
6
Investing in the low cost S&P index fund is simply a bet on the US economy. If you don't need your money in the near term, this is a bet that has rewarded time and again.
6
I'm not a fan of Bernie Sanders, but the Federal Reserve is simply providing more socialism for the wealthy by lowering interest rates in an effort to support the stock market; lowering the value of personal savings in an effort to increase corporate profit is not an example of free-market capitalism.
15
Remember, folks, this runup was based on a RUMOR, not action. And, it appears, any action is two weeks away.
And the rumor was that more easy money would be available to those special people, not your bank, who have the right connections to obtain it.
That easy money is like someone stuffing a C-note in your pocket after watch you lose everything at blackjack and whispering, "You'll win on the next hand and I want some back."
That big brokerage house Pump & Dump was very active today. Buyer beware.
In the meantime, one of the world's largest scientific meetings (in Denver) was cancelled today 36 hrs prior to opening. 11,000 were to attend. Denver just took a bit hit.
5
Trump says the FED should bail out the economy? A rate cut from the FED will do absolutely nothing in an economy chalk full of capital with a downturn caused by factories closed in China, among other things. These are foolish times, indeed. The coronavirus is showing itself in more and more places across America. How long before we start to see slowdowns in transportation, large events, manufacturing, everything? No one knows, and hopefully it won't happen, but taking economic advice (or any other advice) from Trump is akin to washing ones hands with the coronavirus. It's only a matter of time before he bankrupts us. It's his special skill.
5
we're headed into a major global recession, larger than 2008. these guys are juicing the market so they can get out. then they'll place calls on all the big stocks while the rest of us lose our jobs, get sick, and are sidelined with enormous medical bills.
yea, keep voting those moderate enablers in. Biden will give the stock market a kiss and a hug. Bernie will give it a spanking, and maybe ordinary people could have a shot at the American dream again.
6
Who is the stock market for? Certainly not Joe and Jean sixpack and all the millions of others like us who labor for a living without any silver spoons, handouts, or tax breaks. All we get is the shaft and get to be the pawns in a rich, spoiled kids dreams.
3
@Nick
I know people who earn $30,000 a year who invest in the stock market. But then again, they're smart. They drive used cars, eat in, and aren't covered in tattoos. It's really quite simple.
1
@Matt not many people making $30,000 a year are in the stock market...my guess is the percentage is in the single numbers...maybe you know them all...
@Jim
Keep being a professional victim. Blame others. The rest of us are enjoying this great country.
The complicit banks , in bed with the Criminal Trump, will do anything to assure his victory and white wash their crimes. Treasury Sec Warren will give them what they deserve. Subpoenas and Long Prison sentences.
4
Not sure why NYT cut its estimate of digital revenue. Looks like a number of us will be home with not much to do while we wait for "real life" to start back up.
Good luck with that strategy. All companies do with QE and lower interest rates are buy back their stocks and pump up their prices.
In the meantime, the CTFC has zero control of the riskiest and potentially massively destructive debt derivatives and securitization markets, while China and Japan also continue down similar paths.
If the FED or the government wanted to stimulate the economy, they'd follow the Andrew Yang approach and simply send everyone $1,000 a month for the next year or two and subsidize it by taxing capital gains, wealth and returning the inheritance tax on the 500 or so families even still paid it two years ago.
Put money in the hands of the poor and working-class, remove debt usury by lifting the 2005 Bankruptcy law that t destroyed the rights of human citizens to claim chapter 7, clean start, bankruptcy (the same as corporate citizens still have), and let people free of the vast evil of usury.
We don't need lower interest rates. We need higher rates. if you want to stimulate the economy, put it in the hands of people who need to spend it and will immediately. I have three words for this greedy idiots. duh
1
Dow Drops 1,195, Headlines
Dow Rises 1,293, "Below the Fold"
3
A fed rate cut will only help stockholders and CEOs because all the money in the world, literally, cannot reestablish a physical supply chain when there are no people working at the other end of that chain. Since it cannot reestablish a supply chain for companies, how about, for once, the U.S. government bailed out the U.S. workers who will be furloughed or lose 2 weeks of wages when told to self-isolate, instead always helping the CEOs?
5
While the market has had a momentary surge, the fact is that some pretty smart people have said that the banks can only do so much. If our economy is so dependent on consumer spending, and we can't go out, then the only thing we can spend money on is ... Amazon. God help us.
1
"President Trump says the Fed should bail out the economy."
So main street will bail out wall street, again--and then wall street will do what it did to main street, again. Thank you administration billionaires.
3
Stocks at this moment should go up as most people believe that this virus will be short lived and the bonds or long term planning for such an epidemic are not threatened. Facebook showing again its strength to let people mingle from a distance looks better now. However, although Amazon allows the luxury of ordering from home, they may not deliver everything on time due to this outbreak. News media are certainly something to invest in at this time and utilities as those may become hard to repair in a crisis. Oil seems average not to cause alarm to the solitary driver. Food production will most likely move to preservatives if this alarm persists over COVID-19.
Now is the time to reduce dependence on China. Jack Welch surrendered GE to China and all corporate America followed his lead and sold out USA for short term profits, but trade with China is suicide as USA build their empire and military. Next generation will pay with their lives.
7
People who believe that the condition of the stock market equals economic prosperity are delusional. Call it what it is. It's gambling and nothing else. Doesn't change the lives of millions of Americans living in the streets. Shame on those who deceive people to thinking anything less. What a despicable state of affairs.
5
Ah, the 1%'ers have re-positioned their wealth out of the path of catastrophe so full speed ahead....
7
@Jackson-GOP groupie, perhaps? I'm so tired of hearing that line. So much is skimmed off the top before any 401k sees a dime. For instance, though not the same, my Fortune 500 pension benefactor hasn't raised pensions for over 150,000 retirees one dime since 1991 and then removed significant healthcare benefits. So, I'm not a fan of greed transmogrified capitalism.
1
The US economy is being run like General Electric under the late CEO Jack Welch. Just like GE, it won’t end well.
5
Bail out the wealthy corporations (Mr. & Ms Citizens United) with workers tax dollars; second verse same as the first. And when you're done the worker bees will surely touch their forelocks and bow, happy to keep their low wage no benefits jobs; we are truly a servile people... and then they will vote for Biden of course.
6
Trump will do whatever it takes to keep this casino running hot. There will be more debt piled on the tax payer and more cuts to social services. The sole purpose of Trump’s Fed is to keep stoking the “investor” profit machine. The “investor” class and the financial sector will take it all. They broke our economy, now they are breaking our government. They won’t stop until they haven’t left a single crumb on the table. Vote Warren on Tuesday!! It’s not too late!
8
We already bailed out these speculators a dozen times during my life. Enough!! If you want to bail out anybody, try bailing out working people by providing excellent health care, rational leave policies, and a living wage.
13
Socialism for the wealthy, rugged individualism for the poor.
16
This week's dead cat bounce might be partially in the hope of a moderate Biden surge. Both Trump and Bernie represent chaos and disorder. Neither has a solid team to lead from the get-go.
The race to best beat Trump, the path to get there and where we want to be, is down to Warren and Biden now. They are not very far apart in dreams and goals. They need each other no matter what.
Let's ask to see both of them in a 1 to 2 hours all network discussion on ideas to fill out a large administration. Not a debate, a discussion.
Use whiteboards to discuss the org chart and plans regarding the people each would hire and lead.
Talk to people who might fill the slots and ask each of them where they could be well fit in an alternative role. Or who they might suggest fitting in other slots.
It's the team, people.
One weird thing in this process is that it is at the convention that Democrats will declare their platform going forward.
"The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention is to nominate and confirm a candidate for president and vice president, adopt a comprehensive party platform and unify the party.
Shouldn't "adopt a comprehensive party platform" happen before primaries and caucuses?
Fill in the blanks:
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/ReadLibraryItem.ashx?SFN=Myz95sTyO4rJRM/nhIRwSw==&SF=VHhnJrOeEAnGaa/rtk/JOg==
3
Oh, great. Wall Street once again crying to the government for "help."
What about all those small (and big) savers whose bank accounts are getting killed by the near-nothing interest rates? The last time Wall Street and big business got "help" via the outrageous Trump tax cut, did they use it to pay workers more, or invest in more factories in the US? No, the did just the opposite, using the billions to buy their stock back and make even MORE money.
Go cry somewhere else, babies.
13
By the looks of the refinery in Russia, the best thing the oil magnates can do right now is to shut down that massive pollution machine. I don't care if every truck in the country is idled, they need to stop that monstrosity from killing people with pollution. As to the central bankers and Trump, they better get their act together, and I do not mean asking for government bailouts, and dumping currency into Treasury bonds which yields then prevent people from getting mortgage loans; so the people on the globe can at least have a place to live. I don't trust that G7 conference call any more than I can throw an elephant over a hedge!
1
Yay! Yay! Go rich.
Use “We‘ll save the country” pitch.
Yay! Yay! Go wealthy.
Scream “Only we keep the country healthy!
Yay! Yay! Top 1 percent!
Get your bailout from the government.
4
Wow. Panic selling has shifted to bargain buying. There was no scientific rationale for being scared of Corona virus and this week stock holders seem to be coming to their senses. To those that have had in their retirement or University endowment portfolio, exclusive exposure to stocks need to diversify after full recovery and get more into fixed income and keep sufficient cash reserves to buy stocks if stocks go down as they did last week.
4
And for one day, everyone is saying phew...….
2
No, the rich have decided their money will save them, nothing to worry about here, it will be the middle and poor classes that take the brunt of it.. Wrong, their money will by no means save them, the virus knows nothing of who is rich and who isnt, it will hit them equally.
4
Investors have been getting help ever since Trump took over. Tax cuts, rate cuts -- it's time we started thinking about the rest of America. The stock markets are NOT the economy.
342
@JimBob
Exactly. We keep getting told how amazing and resilient capitalism is, and that the owners of capitalism need constant help from the government to stay in business.
Which is it?
Capitalism is not the same thing as a market economy. Markets existed for centuries before the word "Capitalism" was invented.
Capitalism is the theory that government should keep throwing money and other help (including wars!) at the owners of capital, even if they are not based on the USA.
Those that manipulate markets want them to be "free" so that regulators don't get in the way of their fraud and market manipulations.
Smart democracies try to make markets FAIR, so that small businesses and small farms can compete with global corporations on a level playing field. The USA should be enforcing antitrust laws instead of letting corporations becoming too big to fail. That is the law. We should be putting those that commit mass fraud in prison instead of giving them slaps on the wrist.
The USA should be investing in all of our citizens (the general welfare) instead of global billionaires.
I'm not a socialist. I'm a fan of markets ever since I read the wealth of Nations. Adam Smith was not a Capitalist and was against making profits from owning stuff, and against government giving help to big businesses.
Save the market economy from capitalism.
Stop throwing good money after bad.
Invest in American citizens and American infrastructure. That is what the majority of Americans want.
62
@JimBob
't's time we started thinking about the rest of America.'
My 401K is doing very well, thank you very much.
Stop dreaming of the day you will get free money, house and everything from a socialist country, it's never going to happen.
Instead, get your self a 40K or the like, and that way when stocks go up, you get to share on the good times as well.
But a free everything or an income for refusing to work, like AOC wants to gift you, that will never happen.
17
@AutumnLeaf What good is a high 401 K value when the streets and infrastructure of the country are crumbling? When there isn't any middle class any more.
You might as well get a head start and move to a 3rd world country now and surround yourself with big walls in a gated community.
30
As an investor living well below my means, I've questioned how the market has kept rising at such an amazing rate. Speculation is my thought. I'm not surprised at the steep decline. I've lived long enough to realize the market isn't everything and what goes up always comes down and then goes up again. I hope this might be a lesson to the conman who thinks he runs the world on twitter. Some things are bigger than his ego, but don't count on him learning anything.
315
He won’t learn anything, but hopefully enough voters will.
159
I agree with Bella. I had a small amount of hard-earned dollars in the US stock market. Now that’s proving to be the poor overall choice my gut told me it would be when I played it. People used to “play” the stock market. Now they “invest” in it. That’s the con job the rich sold the rest of us. The numbers we have seen since the last collapse-land grab by the rich-giant shift of wealth to a smaller number of people are fantastical and I watched in amazement as the rich kept getting richer, wondering when it would stop. Because it simply can’t keep forever only skyrocketing. Seems like it’s a fantasy game using Monopoly money that the rich must support or they’ll need to face the fact that the money they have isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on any more. It’s time for this correction to happen and for people to get real about wealth, income and tax burden inequality, the collapse of community and society, the danger of the psychopath holding the power of all of us in his tiny fingers, and the fact that Trump is really a mirror reflecting the narcissism and abuse that pervade our culture.
136
More dollars chasing fewer shares...stock buybacks etc...it certainly wasn’t because of earnings growth...once again confirming that the market is not the economy.
67
ANOTHER BAILOUT of those who received great, great, super, covfefe TAX CUTS!?!?!
6
@David Tax cuts that went into buying back company stocks and add to deficits... brilliant.
2
Sanders' poor showing in SC.
3
The economy and the stock market are most strongly influenced by actual economic output, and by estimates of future activity based on current factors that could effect it. The Fed has no knobs and levers to stimulate current activity when the corona virus is at fault. How can the Fed stimulate the travel sector when travel is curtailed? What about services to the public when the public is told to stay away from crowds, and may be subject to quarantine if the disease spreads widely? Although the market fluctuations have a fear component, the market will eventually have to price in one to three months of reduced economic activity. There is no Federal stimulus that can change that fact. At the end of this episode, if the economy does not recover on its own, then the Fed should step in. Otherwise, it is a waste of the Fed's few stimulus mechanisms to apply them today when they cannot work instead of reserving them for a future need. The market recovered after 9/11 with some coaxing from the Fed, but was in dire straits during the great recession of 2008-2009 when intervention was essential. Unfortunately, the calls for a response have been politicized because an election is not far off. The first priority is to deal with the health threat. It is futile to attempt to boost the economy now when the damage is still growing. Wait until the epidemic is no longer a threat to the economy, then act to rebuild it to the extent that intervention is necessary.
2
If market valuations were linked to output and productivity increases the various stock indexes would be at substantially lower levels. The Fed has induced a debt fueled binge mostly in the form of corporations flush with cash from QE and the 2017 tax revision (it was not a cut for everyone) swapping debt for equity and raising dividends on the fewer outstanding shares. The "wealth effect" that the Fed has been trying to create has merely institutionalized "trickle down" economics. And that is the apologetic used to rationalize the policy "if we stop corporate welfare and welfare for the investor class, you will lose your McJob--you won't be able to fetch me my latte if I am broke."
2
The stock market is dead money, speculation money that rotates in and out and it's controlled by a few players. It's a shame that it does influence the real economy. Created to provide new investment to companies so they could grow. prosper and benefit their communities, it's now an excuse for fortunes to sit and grow.
2
Of course. Because there is nothing like a rate cut to solve supply chain problems due to lack of supply. You cut interest rates and all the sudden magically employees come back to produce. There is nothing like cheaper money to make people who fear for their lives go back to work. It also help s to steer budgets towards public health care, like the American health Care system. It's wonderful. Incompetence at its pinnacle.
11
I can't see how a quarter cut or more in interest rates across the world helps this. The problem is as much supply as it is demand. And then there is fear. Lowering interest rates won't get anybody on a plane to China, South Korea or Italy, nor will it help getting parts from shuttered factories in China into goods in the US. It will not help half finished cars from South Korea into California. It will not help restaurants from shutting down, help tourists to buy into cruises, nor will it stop companies from cancelling their conferences. All it does is buoy markets to create the facade that it's all under control. Lowering rates is the equivalent of putting a bandaid on a patient with pneumonia.
11
So we need to bail out rich people again. How Splendid!!!
What is for you not rich , Good , devastating coronavirus infection with a colossal ICU bill.
10
@Marty No it doesn't benefit everyone. The rise in the market is based on growth, but the only growth we have seen is based on manipulated lower rates, tax cuts for the rich resulting in share buy backs, and the Fed buying it's own securities in the Repo Market (QE). These activities although make it look as though our economy is running higher are all false flags. The majority of the American people don't have stocks or 401K's and live paycheck to paycheck. Also in the long run, carrying around a $23 Trillion deficit along with artificially low interest rates are recipe for disaster for everyone, as we have no more tools to lift up the economy in the next recession. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
4
@SU of course we have to pay your rich people out again, after all they have to fly on their private jets to destinations where health care is way better. Can you imagine those poor billionaires having to face the perils of real life.
2
@Marty Instead of cutting interest-rate they should be setting up pools of dollars to fund those that don’t have health care to get proper testing
1
A new day has dawned. Panic and paranoia are arrested for now but will linger on. This week could well have the stocks rebounding. All the prophets and gloom and doom are have got it wrong once again but not enough for the markets to recover in a week or two. I wish more people agreed with FDR's quote. "There is nothing to fear but fear itself" I will always keep reminding the world of this quote when there is unfounded panic and fear.
2
@Girish Kotwal Taxpayers will once again bail out Big Business; while we perish from the virus. Trump bungled this big time. Brought infected Americans here from overseas; did not properly test; no plan; cut CDC funding. Thx Trump and Big Business.
1
@Ray Sipe from Florida. Bush and Obama should never have bailed out the too big to fail. Taxpayers deserved the tax breaks and the economy boomed. Don't cry for America.
1
Markets rally on socialist bailout for the rich!
18
It is excellent that the stock market recovers, because the media hype over the dangers of the coronavirus has much more dangerous consequences than the virus itself.
I am a Professor of Medical Genetics. There are numerous unexplained cases of coronavirus in the US and elsewhere. This raises the possibility that the Coronavirus was for a long time indigenous to humans where only recently a pathogenic variant or unknown co-factor. result in a flu. If true, asymptomatic carriers were for a long time present in the human population. I suspect that population wide screening will show that in every country a certain % of the population are corona virus carriers. The test kit just enables to quantitate indigenous coronavirus carriers that have been there long ago. In other words, it may well be that the hundred of thousands of people that are known to come down with the flu each year in spite of the flu vaccine, actually were infected with the Coronavirus instead to the 4 variants of the common types of influenza viruses: A, B, C and D. The bottomline-Covid-19 is essentially a flu with low mortality rates like the common flu that may have went molecularly undiagnosed for a long time. Caution & 14 days quarantine of carriers are a good approach until a vaccine is at hand, but all the hype and economical panic may have much more dangerous consequences than the virus itself.
4
Bottom line...we STILL do not know...so the market is not in anyway connected to reality yet...
6
@lieberma unfortunately, I'm a doctor in economics. I fail to see how an interest rate cut would help on a virus problem. How helping companies to maybe get a better return for their investors in the future helps medical professionals to find out a treatment schema for infected patients?
2
@lieberma Interesting theor, I have seen a lot of times when we start measuring things that have never been measured before and suddenly we imagine a lot of bad things have just started when they have been around for a while.
The two or three cases of community spread that have no connection to travel had to come from somewhere. Your theory is as good as any
When someone gets the flu, do they ever test for it or do they just treat it?
Trump wants an interest rate cut again from the Fed.
Is that not a tool used to make money cheaper and raise demand in the marketplace?
The Coronavirus has sparked a supply side problem. Factories have been shut down, and now Americans have less good to sell, and less parts to use in the assembly of finished goods. A lot of service industries, like travel, are working at less than capacity because of the virus.
Well, goosing the economy with low interest rates will be of marginal utility if people have nothing to buy and sell. The whole virus problem is exacerbated by people staying home.
Hence, the economy will slow and slow and slow. Then all these high flying companies and startups that operate on leverage and no cash reserves will face 2007-2008 all over again.
This train is coming down the track with exponential acceleration. The only reason the administration does not talk about it is 1) the election, and 2) fear of inducing a panic.
We will need government not only to fend of the virus, but to keep people's lives together in the wake of it.
Alas, Trump and the Republicans don't believe in government.
7
True...this clamoring for the Fed to something is...ridiculous...hence we get Trump demanding it...
5
Hope springs eternal, but personally I think it's a sucker's bet. The fundamentals haven't changed. Over at least the next few months, we're still looking at a massive economic slowdown due to shocks on both supply and demand sides, plus a rash of household debt defaults due to medical expenses that will cause all kinds of economic problems beyond their serious human costs.
83
@Maggie People don’t have health care or can’t afford the high deductibles when they get sick they are going to continue to work and continue to go out in the public exposing us all that is the real danger
6
@M. I agree. I am amazed at the US stock market's abilities to ignore writings on the wall. First, banks cannot do very much with rates so low. And fiscal stimulus is not as possible due to the huge deficits the government is now running. Europe traded up today but far less enthusiastically, perhaps because they are seeing the real results of the coronavirus in their populations. Give the US a week or 2 and we will not be as joyful.
3
@M. Profit taking (sheep shearing); dead cat bounce. Whatever. I'm sure we'll all die happy now that the market has had a good day.
1
The financial world does not need to help any economies by lowering interest rates or anything else.
They could be helping to fund national resources to slow/prevent spread of COVID-19 and treat affected populations. Then, countries would recover quicker and their economies would return to "normal" faster.
4
On what basis? None of the fundamentals are better. In fact, the news this weekend was bad. We have more cases, two deaths, and more evidence that the Administration is unable to respond competently.
Either last week's sell off was unwarranted or this rally is based on irrational hope.
98
@Heather It was the interference of the Central Bank. The underlying earnings growth aren't there.
22
@lisa why would any smart investors think that more easy money and even lower rates (after a decade of historically low rates) is going to unstuck supply chains that depend on Chinese factories or convince people that they should resume their normal travel?
35
@Heather I am only telling why there is a bump in the market today due to the Central bank. The bottom line this won't work long term. Companies before this virus were already down grading their earnings growth this year before the virus.
32
The markets are rallying on wishful thinking and the prospect of more bailouts in one form or another. But this problem has not yet been resolved and the trump regime is as incompetent and politicized as ever. We have not hit bottom on this one and I remain confident that unloading some stock last week was the right move.
69
Once again the Fed coming to the rescue to prop up the stock market for Trump. However, I don't see how an interest rate cut will have any impact.
4
Wake up! Central banks aren't equipped to deal with this threat. If investors are seriously banking on that, I'm not sure that they understand the function of the central banks. I'm appalled that Powell hinted that the Fed would step in if needed. He has to know that anything the Fed does will have no impact on this situation and will only limit his options going forward. As Trump would say...It's really saaaaad.
2
Do traders really believe a rate cut will offset the economic effects of this virus? It won't bring people into stores, schools, jobs, etc. A conversation with a large clothing manufacturer/retailer included discussions of empty stores (re-negotiate rents or force majeur) and unloaded cargo containers outside and inside ports. Based on today's rise, it may be time to short the market (if I had any guts).
6
Just give the rich people tax payers money and all problem will go away.
Once some Republicans were yelling to our face, it is moral hazard to bail out their loan during 2008 crisis.
This moral hazard is never happening for rich people bail out.
10
Will lowering the Fed rate ramp up manufacturing and restart supply chains?
I didn't think so.
Time for savers to bail out Wall Street again. Sigh.
6
It looks like we're going to have both depression and inflation, if not hyperinflation. Next year when the virus comes back may be the actual endgame.
5
I've been around a long time and at this point we're really living in an Alice in Wonderland nation. Up is down, left is right, etc. The Fed was set to raise interest rates (from their still historically low rates) just 14 months ago in the midst of Trump's calamitous tariffs. Wall St. had just had its worst Dec. since the 1930s and in essence (along with Trump) forced the Fed not only to halt its planned increases for 2019 but forced it to raise rates by .75 points beginning in July 2019. The 10-year treasury bond "peaked" at 3.27% in Nov. 2018 and is now at....1.09%. In addition, the Fed "surreptitiously" jump-started its QE program last year after the Wall St. gambling mechanism, better known as the Repo market, seized up.
So we have the Fed funds rate at around 1.5%, the 10-year at 1.09% and QE up and running again. And Wall St. pouts once more, just can't get by with all this liquidity. So it awaits the Fed to do exactly what for the ten so of millions who barely live paycheck to paycheck, hoping their brakes don't fail or the dryer conks out? Yes, these tens of millions don't benefit from the Fed's zero interest rate policy. The pay upwards of 22% on their maxed out credit cards, barely getting by. The Fed works for Wall St. and the one-tenth of one percent. The rest pay 22% interest to pay for food.
19
@marty
Literally a tax that yields nothing of value to society.
4
@marty
The middle ages had anti-usury laws. The modern era thinks usury is a good thing. 22% interest is usury given that banks are paying about 1.6% interest on savings.
So much for the Christian ethics. If this doesn't make you sick to your stomach....or sick at heart or really sorry for many a poor sucker... and not nec. lined up at the border but living in the good ol USA.
4
The fake “stock” markets love them there socialistic bail-outs.
8
Our Fed will be able to do virtually NOTHING where this epidemic is concerned - except short-term Trumpian Market manipulation.
The IDIOT-IN-CHIEF complains that every other country manipulates its Markets, but that is EXACTLY what he is doing, and it will not end well. This will just have to take its course and re-equilibrate to reality, whatever that is. Political manipulation to win an election is criminal, but that fits with everything else Trump does.
Tell me, where are those fantastic economic gains coming from the $1.4 TRILLION tax gift to the rich? We now have an exponentially larger national debt than we did before Trump stole the money for himself and his "good friends". The old GOP (now TrumpOP) is a criminally-sepeding Party of DEFICIT, not fiscal conservancy.
Next step - Mnuchin will print more money at Trump's order and we will suffer the same end as the Soviet Union did. Putin will be SO happy!
5
@RealTRUTH
I agree with you, but I take issue with the casual introduction of the word "criminal".
Where are the “It’s Always Sunny In Trumptopia” commentors now? Two weeks ago they were alternating between saying this is no big deal and tirades a out Chinese eating habits.
4
@citybumpkin OK, here you go. The markets are currently at levels last seen in December 2019. The market went up dramatically in December & January, and are now where they were less than 1 quarter ago.
If you are invested for retirement, this makes no difference at all.
Things may change, but this is just loss aversion. Going down 10% "feels" more bad than the mirror 10% gain felt.
1
America is not a business.
America is a nation state.
The President of the United States is not a businessman.
The President of the United States is the head of government and state.
By failing to declare, disclose and divest his personal assets into a blind- trust, you can't tell where inherited wealth Trump Organization Mar- a Lago ends and elected power and privilege Trump Administration White House begins.
The first and last best business deal that Trump made was choosing a New York City real estate baron daddy to inherit 295 streams of income from that protected him the consequences of being the single worst losing businessman in America over a ten year period.
Trump played a businessman on reality TV that didn't correspond with his reality then nor now. Trump can't really fire anyone to their face.
8
Every digital ad on this article was advertising face masks. I don’t find this ironic, I find it terrifying. Our health care workers need these masks, and NYT digital advertising folks need to remove these ads. Now.
5
As Trump yells at his rallies and on Twitter, “We will never be a Socialist country!” he gripes about the Fed Chair moving too slowly to bail out the big money guys. He really doesn’t get irony.
16
This country does work really well for the wealthy - cut interest rates so the wheelers & dealers can cook up more leveraged schemes to make millions, a la Trump, while those not in the market get even fewer interest crumbs on meager savings.
8
Every time stocks go down, Powell is expected to pump more cheap money into the system. That's socialism for stock-holders. And, now that the entire world is choking on the debt that this Central Bank charade has created, the banks are also are powerless to stop the free-fall that is coming. Zero percent interest rates are not going to get broke American families on airplanes to Wuhan for vacation.
12
Anybody got a good count on how many times we were all told that tiny interest rates, buying up bonds, tax breaks for the wealthiest, and spiraling deficits and debts to sugar rush the economy was all very well—until something went wrong, and the government and banks lacked the tools to respond usefully?
4
"Stocks Rally as Traders Look for Economic Help"? I love how the vocabulary of dependency has changed. Stock traders call it "economic help." Farmers call it "subsidies." Corporations receive steep "tax cuts." But it sounds like welfare to me. At the same time, stereotypical welfare no longer exists. But you wouldn't know it from watching Fox News or attending a Trump rally.
Raise your hand if you think the federal government will step in to pay your medical bills if you get sick or provide you with a guaranteed salary if you lose your job because of Covid-19?
16
dead cat bounce /ˈded ˈkat ˌbouns/
nounSTOCK MARKET
a temporary recovery in share prices after a substantial fall, caused by speculators buying in order to cover their positions.
"is the recession really over, or is it a dead cat bounce?"
6
The millionaire's portfolios are sagging, so the Fed must immediately come to the rescue. The working class hasn't had a raise in decades, so let them eat cake. And they actually wonder why Bernie Sanders is doing so well.
16
Bernie is giving it all away. That has to hit everyone in the pocket. Universal health is good but forgiving loans sounds bad.
2
@Autar Kaw Really? Ask all the people who lost their houses and jobs in 2008, then watched the billionaire club get bailed out, or the kids who got suckered into the fake Trump Universities and ended up with a worthless diploma and in debt up to their eyeballs.
4
@Maggie I don't disagree with all you write. If I had any money to spare t all, but I don't with kids/ special needs grandchild, I could have invested right after the crash of 2008. But what I wrote is beyond dispute, that a chunk of middle America lost their homes and jobs after the 2008 crash, and the bankers who caused the crash were bailed out. That is not silly, it is fact.
That this caused popular movements on the right and left is also clear enough. And the Fed is doing and has done plenty for the well off, and precious little for the rest. If this virus gets out of control due to Trump's ongoing incompetence, Sanders is likely to win, for better or for worse. BTW, I am a Joe Biden booster, but Sanders has the popular movement. And I will vote for any Democrat over Trump.
1
Don’t worry, folks; as soon as banks can borrow money literally for free I’m sure they’ll pass on the savings by lowering your credit card interest to no more than 19%.
27
China has shown the way.
After the initial missteps, which allowed the virus to take hold, China showed us that it was possible to quickly (4 weeks) limit the spread of the disease from 2,000+ new infections/day across the country, to ˜200/day and dropping mostly in a single region.
Hong-Kong, right next door totally contained it, very quickly also. So did Singapore.
In the US, after the disaster of the CDC limiting testing capacity, so to it can be brought under control, before it gets out of hand.
That leaves Italy, Japan and South Korea, to show they regain control as well. Iran does not matter.
In the meantime, with all the awareness, tens of thousands of people who would have caught and died from the flu will not catch it.
The result may be a net-positive for global health.
Eventually, the stock market will reflect this.
I have serious doubts about what monetary policy can do in this particular circumstance, i.e., acute global demand and supply squeezes across multiple sectors combined with already-low interest rates. Any other administration would already be messaging preparations for targeted fiscal options like $$ support to states, localities, the public health sector, and even working families potentially affected by work and school stoppages. (Read: Not another tax cut that disproportionately benefits the wealthy.)
7
The stock prices are low and a lot of investors are buying at bargain prices. Nobody knows how long or deep the effects from the virus happen to be but the market is not likely to go much lower. Given the time value of money the prices are relatively lower than the low in 2008.
2
We don’t need help from central banks. We need scientific honesty. We need to stop the trade wars and build up the supply chains. We need to re-fund and re-build our national healthcare crisis response system. We need to hire people to do these jobs and they don’t need to be political hacks. Do all of this and or economy will be stronger than before coronavirus hit.
15
I fail to see how bringing central bank rates down to near zero is going to counter the reduction in demand due to uncertainty, fear, and massive quarantines, not to mention on the supply side of the equation the disruption of supply chains in manufacturing. All it will do is slightly increase banks profits as they borrow money from the government at low rates and then lend it back to the government at slightly higher rates. If and when the recession comes we're going to need to put people to work with stimulus spending. An obvious focus in the US would be massive infrastructure spending. However, if that is going to be done we need to start ramping up planning of such projects right now, so they'll be shovel ready when needed. But finally, our focus now should be on public health, not bankers' and CEOs' fears of falling profits. The better controlled the epidemic the fewer deaths and the lesser the economic disruption. Fewer people dying and less economic disruption surely is of greater value that simply containing economic disruption for CEO and big money men.
15
Donnie told us that this was was all contained in the US, that we would be down to zero cares in a week or two, and we'd have a vaccine shortly to make everything okay. What's all the worry for?
6
If you want to get your stock prices up then someone needs to tactfully tell China that exports and imports piling up on the wharves of China is a threat to the world economy.
Someone needs to organise China's response to this so their and our economies can go on as usual. People can't stay locked in their homes forever. Not everyone in China will get the virus and workers need to get back to work. Geeze! I don't get paid enough to work out the worlds economic problems with common sense solution.
3
Interesting how central banks never step in to help people with their medical bankruptsies...but to help the rich get richer trading stocks...there's always plenty of funny money for that
51
Whiney manchild in the white house. Whiney Wall Street. The hubris is staggering. Now THEY want help, begging for rediculously low rates. Of course they will claim it is for the good of the country because it will protect jobs for the "average" American. It is funny how these guys disappear when people want unions and higher wages and restrictions on interest rates on consumer debt. What a sick society.
29
We were headed for recession before Covid-19 appeared. Economic growth in China and India was slowing. Last year one-fifth of the U.S. economy was already in recession and the country's economic growth rate keeps getting revised downward. Turkey's currency valuation imploded in 2018 with zero GDP growth estimated for 2019.
Now we have a "moron" (former Cabinet secretary's description, not mine) in the Oval Office, a ballooning deficit, and the Fed's interest rate is already rock bottom.
Covid-19 is just icing on the cake.
12
I'm not so sanguine, smells like a dead cat to me.
14
Yes, I've seen this before. When greedy Wall Street suffers the government runs to help. When citizens ache, government is nowhere to be found.
It's a shame!!
15
Central banks will save us? LOL.
5
Enjoy the dead cat bounce
17
Trump wants the Fed to cut the interest rate to negative. So not only are retired seniors whose life savings should not be invested in equities making next to nothing on their savings accounts now, but the bank would actually start charging them to keep their money in them.
6
Long-term stock investors still shouldn’t buy the dip, says El-Erian, but it’s an opportunity-filled environment for pro traders.
1
OK, so I'm no economist, but just what would a rate cut accomplish when dealing with closed factories, a reduced workforce (due to sickness/possible quarantines), and impaired supply lines? Seems the only "stimulus" that might "work" would be to hand out money to help employers stay afloat and keep the unemployed/underemployed spending like good little consumers.
And, of course, with already low rates, there ain't a lot of room for cutting.
Maybe there is something to a rate cut; I'm ready for an education.
8
Last week wasn't a correction
Last week was a rational response of institutional investor who, having looked over the horizon, saw enough worry to push them off the climbing wall.
There is a reason interests rates have gone negative in Europe and that is BEFORE the Brexit Bomb detonates.
6
Central bank interference at this point would be unconscionable. It would only serve to boost Trump’s election chances artificially boosting the market without helping those who really need boosting and assistance. The health care costs alone from this current scene will wipe out huge numbers of people
13
Buy low, sell high! I'm 53 years old and pumping two BMW payments a month into my retirement account (as cash), I've been waiting for this correction for over a year. Besides, the correction makes Trump look bad. I have no problem with the volatility on Wall Street.
4
@Pat
last week wasn't a correction it was institutional investor looking over the horizon and seeing nothing good.
there is a reason interests rates have gone negative in Europe and the Brexit Bomb has yet to detonate.
2
This is reminiscent of the attempted stock market bailouts of the 1890s and early 1900s. Just more manipulation of stocks instead of fundamental approaches to dealing with the problem - in this case an international pandemic. Trump does NOT CARE about the average American and how that person is impacted. This is all about his election and LIKE MOST ACTIONS IN HIS LIFE will hurt others in order to assuage his ego.
18
This would be a good time for Trump to end the tariffs. It would boost China's ability to recover and buy US goods and services and reduce prices for US consumers of Chinese made product.
Of course that would take Trump doing something constructive.
10
@HL Playing the bully and sticking it to China and Iran are what pump up Trump's base.
1
As usual, Trump bullies the Fed into rate cuts, while mismanaging the problem that led to the fall in the market. This is akin to giving amphetamines to a cancer patient. It feels good for a moment, but does nothing to address the underlying illness.
31
Typical Trump. How low can the Fed go.
3
Stocks wobble a bit (come on, a 12% adjustment from peak is not the end of the world),,,
Trump and leaders jump in saying something needs to be done yesterday, and bankers prepare to give free money to WSJ and lower interest rates.
Families see their income threatened, their jobs on the line, prospect of huge medical bills, even death a possibility....
Crickets, zilch, nada
Yes the game is rigged and our "leaders" and "elites" all deserve to be kicked out into some sense of responsibility!
35
All these band-aid approaches will undoubtedly keep Wall Street happy, while "the media" and big gov continues to ignore the root cause of this malicious virus--the same problem at the root of global warming, unsustainable demand for human disease care, and unending destruction of other life on this planet.
9
Central banks the "go fund me" site for the 1 percent.
66
@how bad can it be
Absolutely!
4
They only value a strong federal government when it bails them out.
13
Wild swings in the stock market seem to proceed a crash? Am I wrong?
9
Rallies like this are common, they happened several times during the 2008 collapse. Get back to us in 4 weeks and we'll see what's really happening.
19
To take a positive view of a potentially horrendous situation with supply chains seriously interrupted:
Perhaps people will figure out that they don't actually need a lot of the STUFF they feel they can't possibly live without, such as ahi steaks, the latest gadget, or a new car.
Perhaps people will figure out that the globalized economic model that brings them all their can't-do-without STUFF, also means they are dependent on foreign sources for stuff they actually do need, such as many medicines and medical supplies, a supply chain out of our control.
Perhaps people will figure out that if they lessened their consumption of all the latest STUFF, it would do much to lessen anthropogenic global warming, more than the feel-good banning of plastic straws for instance. ["Dramatic fall in China pollution levels ‘partly related’ to coronavirus"; https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/01/dramatic-fall-in-china-pollution-levels-partly-related-to-coronavirus]
Perhaps I'm just doing you-know-what into the wind.
No, make that likely.
8
@Steve Fankuchen While I agree with the end-goal you describe, a radical, short term shift in consumption patterns will end up with increased poverty and perhaps starvation. We're not the agrarian economy of Thoreau.
6
I’d love to know what trump thinks the Fed is spozed to do, given that thye can’t cut rates much and they’ve already been essentially QE-ing away.
But of course his point’s scapegoating, not fixing anything.
5
“As usual, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve are slow to act” complained the nation's most overgrown infant.
Everybody loves an endless whiner.
Too bad this Presidential charlatan and his Reverse Robin Hood caucus were too busy investing in billionaires, stock buybacks and 0.1% welfare programs the last three years - (forty years, really) instead of the common good.
Deplorable on every level.
60
Narcissistic Personality Disorders can’t tolerate the world not adhering to their personal narrative. They can’t see these external things as different from themselves. When the world doesn’t adhere to their narrative an NPD will lash out as if they were personally harmed.
Or put from a healthy person’s perspective, NPDs need to constantly feed on the world around them.
9
Monetary policy here seems like pushing on a string.
2
Less than 500 tests had been done in the US as of Feb. 28 due to lack of testing capability, now only increasing. As of Feb. 27, only 200 testing kits were available in CA according to to Gov. Newsom. Early test kits were faulty. So of course, we have no idea how many people may be infected especially that 80% have no or mild symptoms. Also, people can transmit infections when asymptomatic.
14 infected Diamond Princess people got onto planes against CDC guidance. The whistleblower reports that the HHS workers caring for the evacuees from Wuhan and the Diamond Princess were not protected; this may have been one source of the spread. The first community case reported was in Solano County home of Travis AFB. On Feb. 27, the CDC website listed only those coming from China needed extra scrutiny even though many other countries had reported cases. Now researchers at Univ. of Washington say based on genetic data that the virus has been in the community for 6 weeks with an estimated 500-1000 infections. *The cat is out of the bag!*
Why no Federal leadership to deal with this health emergency? Trump:
1. Cut the CDC’s budget 3 yrs in a row
2. Fired the pandemic response team at HHS
3. Fired the pandemic response team at DHS
4. Fired the NSC coordinator for global pandemic events
13
What could go wrong? This pandemic, which it is now, affects not just those #45 hates, but all walks of life and political persuasion.
3
@Francis Lu You are a straight shooter, Mr. Lu. very well said.
1
Will you look at this.
Despite the cheerleaders on the left cheering on as the market crashed, the market has rebounded - just like it always does.
What I would like to see is people like Paul Krugman publicly eating crow, since he keeps insisting the economy is one heartbeat away from dying, and despite his best hopes, it continues to rebound.
Sorry Democrats, the economy did not die.
3
@AutumnLeaf A clueless and inhumane metaphor. Only a Trump devotee could be so concerned over owning Krugman that he doesn’t notice the actual deaths, the unimpressive 2.1 % growth last quarter, the fact the markets are still negative for 2020, and the downward revisions of everyone’s economic outlook.
8
Not yet.
1
@AutumnLeaf Rebounded? Really? Is the S&P back near 3,400? (Hint: It's not)
4
Here we go. Again. The investors are yelling “help me, bail me out”
People please relax, hey it’s only money!
6
Pearl Harbor & 9/11 didn’t stop the USA, this virus is nothing in comparison.
2
@sebastian One occurred under a president who took action that didn't directly benefit himself, the other occurred under an incompetent Republican/Fox News: And look where we ended up in 2008.
By all means, the banks should step in quickly with wealthfare for the rich. We wouldn't want them to suffer just because people are sick and dying.
18
Right NowPresident Trump criticized Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell for being “slow to act” to help bolster the U.S. economy.
Sure. It's Powell who is slow to act, after Trump watches coronavirus spread world wide and does nothing.
129
@Yeah Yes, all he cares about is Wall Street and high finance to fill the back pockets of those oligarchs who will in turn fight with all their greed to reelect him. He is a shameful man...not one word of compassion or sympathy toward the growing numbers of Americans who are succumbing to the coronavirus.
25
This is nuts - I assume the people buying are those who sold high last week? They may make a small profit, but they are just kicking the can down the road, because the fundamental problem of both a supply & demand contraction, simultaneously, continues and gathers pace.
And there is nothing the Fed can do. Interest rates are already low, making them lower still won't have the desired effect. This is the problem that holding rates at low rates for a decade was inevitably going to create - no ammunition to fight a recession.
Anybody who invests in the stock market now is taking a huge risk with their capital. Many people have not even experienced falling stock prices!!
This will not end well. I expect the Dow Jones to shed, in total, somewhere from 25% (almost half-way there already) to, more realistically, 50%.
I also feel that would represent a far more accurate, long-run valuation based upon fundamental, rather than demand, is which is pretty much what is keeping the market flying.
13
@Dean A drop of 50% would result in massive cutbacks, unemployment will skyrocket, and Trump isn't going to sign on to 'extended' unemployment benefits. It
would be a catastrophe. Probably worse than 2008 as there isn't much headroom for the Fed to act in the long-term.
2
@Spanky In 2010, the Dow Jones was at 10,000. Now, its at 26,500.
Have the companies become 2 and a half times as profitable now as they were then? Have they all managed to become that good?
No, they have not.
It's purely down to cheap money and low interest rates. The companies themselves have not really changed and more than doubled their profits.
2
None of the critical fundamentals have changed. What are the Fed and other global policy makers going to do about idle factories, empty airports and movie theaters, supply chain issues and sick people? Interest rate reductions rom 1.5 to 1.25 percent is a panacea for all this?
I don’t think so.
Get ready. It’s about the hit the fan, folks.
44
It's Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Unfortunately the US has vacillated between stage 1 denial and stage 2 anger for the past 40 years, so nothing ever improves.
4
Wall street should close for few weeks to prevent the spread of the virus . Classic pictures of the place shows always a lot of people shouting and agitating hands, plus lots of them might have been in vacation during the holidays in exotic countries, like Italy, Portofino , cinque Terre, skiing in the Alps .
4
It is the stock market that Trump is currently consumed with, not COVID-19, which he can easily spin (maybe even to his benefit, by making it a case against about immigration and globalization).
The stock market drop is what made the GOP turn on Bush. There is no spin when positions are reduced and money is lost. Trump’s most powerful and important supporters want their money, and unless Trump gets it back, he is in peril.
13
@TS
It is obvious market manipulation. Why? the market dropped 4,000 points last week allegedly due to the coronavirus, yet, it is now "rebounding" as the virus continues to spread?
21
@Maggie
Jitters are skin deep but fraud goes to the bone.
6
Uh, it’s not quite that simple.
How does an interest rate cut effect a supply side shock? If your slumping activity is due to lack of demand then interest rates will work all the time... but how does a cheaper loan reopen a factory closed by quarantine, or fill a movie theater in an area where public gatherings are cancelled? Cheaper money plus limited supply leads mostly to inflation. Raising revenue by raising prices might make wall street happier at consumer expense.
35
Look people don't put your head in the sand and say "oh this is why we should only make in America". That is not the right answer. You should have multiple suppliers in multiple countries or locations. You could have your supplier in Florida and then a hurricane comes in and knocks it out of business.
We are a global marketplace and that won't change. Take a look at your prior year 401k gains. It was coming from emerging markets.
12
@lisa "You should have multiple suppliers in multiple countries or locations."
How would that work in practical terms? You can't have unprofitable factories all over the place waiting for a crisis to justify their existence. They would go out of business before a crisis occurred, or shortly after a crisis subsided.
1
@lisa Easy to say to have several suppliers in different countries, however, to do that you would need to have coordination through government interaction or at least some relief from the anti trust rules. Price competition creates a lot of issues and some companies give up and go home as the buyer always goes for the lowest price.
@lisa
"Take a look at your prior year 401k gains. It was coming from emerging markets."
The pay of working Americans is flat for decades because we give tax cuts to the rich, who take the money and invest in low wage "emerging markets.".
"The government' (i.e. our Republic) invests in America and Americans. Shareholders keep investing elsewhere.
Let's invest in ourselves for a change.
4
I have to wonder what the Boy Blunder will do to nip this rally in the bud.
I am also a little amazed that Wall Street has any confidence in this science-denying administration to effectively manage a health crisis. Perhaps this is a good time to invest in blood-letting technologies.
Our ineffective and incompetent administration will surely do something to show the world that the U.S. will ignore this crisis - until it affects their standing in the polls, of course.
44
@DaveInNewYork
Lol, stocks in leeches are going through the roof!
4
And once again, krugman calls the low. He is uncanny. Did the same thing after trump won in 2016. And now everyone like him who said market was going down due to trump will have to acknowledge the reverse.
9
Lessee if I got this straight—a week of historical falls, a sagging world economy because of the coronavirus and other problems, and one morning’s modest rise oroves Krugman’s the devil.
Okay, sure. How...Trumpy.
11
Maybe it's time to rethink "Made in America".
Yes, we may have to pay more for products, but with all the goods made in China- we may pay more in the long run by trusting China with MANY of our basic needs.
Consider most of our drugs are produced in China. If they are holding back masks....imagine what they will hold back in a global epidemic....
15
@CELIE look you can have a manufacturer in Texas and a hurricane comes in. The point is to have multiple suppliers in multiple countries.
13
The stock markets will react to this global shocker just as it has in the past, initial panic and then slow recovery. The worst thing the Fed can do is follow any advice from Donald J. Trump which contradicts what the members of the Fed, through years of sophisticated experience, think best. Only someone as sophomoric as Trump would offer opinions totally ungrounded in positive experience or knowledge. Remember that Trump has already filed for Bankruptcy protection 4 times. That must say something about Trump's understanding of how economies work.
20
They care more about stocks than about getting a coordinated, non-politically-motivated response to the outbreak.
82
@Maple Surple
Why would they? They don’t live with the rest of us. They have walls around their communities and access to the best doctors.
2
The stock market will be a yo-yo for the next few months or possibly longer. This pandemic is just getting started. We don't need a rate cut, we need equipment to stop this thing including masks, protective gear for healthcare workers, respirators, provisional hospital beds, all in short supply at the moment. And of course we need a vaccine. Meanwhile Trump is insisting on Fed rate cuts? Lives are at stake here, not just 401Ks.
77
@Steve
401ks are the backstop to protect the wealthy. They don’t care about 401ks.
1
@Mathias Please explain what you mean about '401ks are backstop.'
They (and IRAs) are useful tools for middle class to plan for the future.
So Trump has no problem calling on the Fed to bail out the financial markets, but he calls Bernie Sanders the socialist?
271
@Derek Martin Don't forget the billions in bailouts that Trump has paid out to corporate farmers who love to accuse others of being "socialist" while they cash their checks.
179
Yup, some underpaid teacher in Newark is paying taxes in order to subsidize a “Conservative” self-righteous “American People” type so they can keep their tens of thousands of acres in the family, play with their heavy equipment and produce commodities without risk. That’s not farming. That’s real estate and commodity trading.
18
@Derek Martin
Clearly, the demon word "socialism", hurled as an epithet by Trump, Republicans, and corporate Democrats, is hurled depending on whose ox is being gored.
The billionaire Bloomberg, spending many millions to try to buy the presidency, is simply repellent to many - but is quite happy to label Senator Sanders a communist. What label should we affix to Bloomberg?
And for all those lining up trying to stop Senator Sanders' extremely popular and timely message - let's use Senator Warren's argument....just who uses the post office to mail all those campaign flyers arriving in the mail for Biden and Bloomberg here in California? Gracious me, the socialist post office is used by their campaigns.
We need, desperately need, a correction to the vast income inequality we now see in this country.
Sanders for President 2020.
8
This is so separate from the Federal Reserve Bank that one might think financial network talking heads have lost their minds. On the other hand, worldwide economic activity may slow on a scary curve until transportation of all types can normalize.
4
I can't see how investors could believe a rate cut now to be good news. The rate cut will only happen if the Fed believes the US is tipping into recession. It's not a reaction to the markets or a virus. It's a judgment on the real economy and that it's doing badly.....REALLY badly, given the low interest rates already.
77
Global growth only benefits a relatively small group of people. Most folks, who are working two or three jobs, barely make enough to make ends meet.
102
@Bleu Bayou If you are working to just make ends meet, don't vote again for Trump or a Republican Congress.
13
@Bleu Bayou
Indeed, just look at "Wild and Wonderful West Virginia" where people work several jobs at minimum wage, and have to chose between food on the table or urgently needed meds.
18
@Bleu Bayou Yep. And anyone who points out the obvious fact that the rich are crushing the poor in countless ways gets demeaned as a socialist.
24
The stock market: a classic case of fear vs. greed. At 78, while I am not exactly fearful, I am definitely not greedy. I'll sit this out for awhile.
37
People who haven’t been following events in China and Hong King don’t yet appreciate what is going to happen.
This is really going to shut economic activity down. AT&T is restricting travel. Major law firms are canceling partnership meetings. You are going to see travel stocks tank.
You will see capitulation once you see community transmission confirmed in NYC. No one is going to take the subway
97
@Jay Lincoln Global death toll at 3000 and everyone's calling for the end of the world. We lose 8,000 people in the US alone in a routine flu season.
9
@JimBob But it's 3000 because entire metro areas are locked down and activity is scaled back. It's the hit to the economy that is saving lives, so to measure the hit to the economy by deaths is simply wrong.
26
@Jay Lincoln You are correct I think.
Many places here in Seoul are barren and I have not taken in two weeks nor will I take the subway in next two.
11
hang onto your hats folks this slide isn't even close to stopping, production numbers are not even factored in yet as a delayed effect has yet to hit. that and we haven't even seen how far the virus has already spread as it has been circulating for months without detection.
53
China is up since their pmi was released on Saturday. In fact their stock market bottomed before the pmi numbers were released. So don’t think market can’t bottom before the news headlines peak
4
The snowflakes are melting. Rich people used to be tolerable because they faced uncertainty and the unpredictable and took risks. Those are admirable traits in war, business, technology and science. Nowadays, with the slightest hint of a downturn, “investors” beg (or demand, in the case of one large yellow snowflake) governmental intervention.
145
This has been true for a very long time...
7
The maladministration will do everything possible to reinflate the bubble. They fear that those first quarter 401K statements arriving in early April will be a shock. The third quarter statements, arriving in October, 2008, showing how badly Bushco mismanaged things, probably helped fuel the blue tsunami that November.
111
So if everyone is staying at home and there is reduced economic activity, what good will lower interest rates do other than force more money into riskier investments as people look for some better return than .08% interest on a savings account? Are there really business people sitting around holding off on investments because 2% is just too high and 1.5% makes a big difference?
Reduced economic activity means reduced demand for oil, so the production cuts will happen naturally.
The best thing that any government can do is figure out how we are all going to live with this virus and keep normal life going as much as possible. The sooner that question is answered, the sooner that economic activity returns to normal.
183
@Hugh G
Indeed, reduced economic activity means reduced demand for oil.
China has shut down numerous factories, travel, etc., etc., and voila, their country now has the least air pollution in a long time.
44
Indeed...a rate cut will not increase demand...
11
@Hugh G
Rate cuts and tax cuts aren't going to have any effect on the bottom 60% of households.
The lowest 20-40% will be most severely impacted by quarantine interruptions as they have jobs that pay by the hour and require their presence at the worksite. If an employer or school closes for a 14 day quarantine these households don't have enough reserves to survive 14 days, much less the likelihood that sequential quarantines are likely.
Not everyone will be affected, but more than too many will be in desperate straits very quickly.
13