By Martin Crutsinger
The Federal Reserve is taking additional steps to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy. The money will target American households and businesses, as well as local governments besieged by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Fed said Thursday that it is activating a Main Street Business Lending Program authorized by the CARES Act, the largest economic relief package ever passed by Congress.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed's role was to “provide as much relief and stability as we can during this period of constrained economic activity.”
In addition, the Fed activated a loan program for municipal governments, as well as additional support for the Paycheck Protection Program, which the Small Business Administration rolled out last week. The program provides loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
The Main Street lending program “will make a significant difference for the 40,000 medium-sized business that employ 35 million Americans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
The government's pay protection plan for small businesses is off to a rocky start. They have had difficulty getting banks to provide the loans. The banks have said that the government has not made clear how they should process such loans, even what forms are required.
The Fed announced the new infusion of cash on the same day the U.S. reported applications for unemployment benefits last week reached a staggering 6.6 million. That means more than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks to the coronavirus outbreak.
SAG-AFTRA said over the weekend that it received the studios' last best and final offer following a meeting on Saturday, with the union saying it's reviewing it and considering a response "within the context of the critical issues addressed in our proposals."
Stocks rose slightly as Wall Street looks to continue its momentum with earnings season winding down.
Tyson Foods is recalling about 30,000 of its dino-shaped chicken nuggets after some consumers reported finding small metal pieces in those nuggets.
Google on Monday will try to protect a lucrative piece of its internet empire at the same time it’s still entangled in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century.
Before the SAG-AFTRA strike, this was the weekend “Dune: Part Two” was supposed to open. When Warner Bros. and Legendary pushed that opening back to March 2024 and no other blockbuster stepped in to take its spot.
A growing number of Californians are planting agave to be harvested forz use in spirits. The trend is fueled by the need to find hardy crops that don’t need much water and a booming appetite for premium alcoholic beverages.
Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street. This week we highlight Paramount, Maersk, Starbucks, Uber, Lyft and Beyond Meat.
With Donald Trump due on the witness stand next week, testimony from his adult sons in his civil business fraud trial wrapped up Friday with Eric Trump saying he relied completely on accountants and lawyers to assure the accuracy of financial documents key to the case.
DraftKings reported better-than-expected revenue in the third quarter.
Wallet Hub released a list of the 10 states with the highest median monthly student loan payments.
