Federal reserves

REUTERS: The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet rocketed past US$5 trillion in assets for the first time this week as it scooped up bonds and extended loans to banks, mutual funds and other central banks in its unprecedented effort to backstop the economy in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic. The Fed's total balance sheet size exploded by more than half a trillion dollars in a single week, roughly twice the pace of the next-largest weekly expansion in the financial crisis in October 2008. As of Wednesday, the Fed's stash of assets totaled US$5.3 trillion, according to data released on Thursday. (Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Chris Reese) … [Read more...] about Fed balance sheet tops US$5 trillion for first time as it enters coronavirus war mode

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to a record of more than three million last week as strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought the country to a sudden halt, unleashing a wave of layoffs that likely ended the longest employment boom in US history. The weekly jobless claims report from the Labour Department on Thursday (Mar 26) offered the clearest evidence yet of the coronavirus' devastating impact on the economy, which has forced the Federal Reserve to take extraordinary steps and the US Congress to assemble a record US$2 trillion stimulus package. READ: US$2 trillion COVID-19 rescue package passes US Senate, heads to House Economists say the economy is already in recession. Weekly claims are the most timely labour market indicator. With nearly half the country's population under some form of a lockdown, economists are bracing for further increases in jobless claims. "With partial lockdowns across the … [Read more...] about US weekly jobless claims surge to record 3.28 million

WASHINGTON: Sales of new US single-family homes fell in February after surging in the prior month, and could decline further because of the coronavirus pandemic which is boosting unemployment and severely disrupting economic activity. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday (Mar 24) new home sales dropped 4.4 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 765,000 units last month. January's sales pace was revised sharply higher to 800,000 units, which was the highest level since May 2007, from the previously reported 764,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for more than 10 per cent of housing market sales, declining 2.0 per cent to a pace of 750,000 units in February. "We expect new home sales to fall more sharply in March and decline nearly 10 per cent in the second quarter," said Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics in New York. "Low mortgage rates and pent-up demand will be supportive of housing when a … [Read more...] about US new home sales fall in February

NEW YORK: Global stocks mostly tumbled on Monday (Mar 23) despite fresh stimulus announcements as the economic toll from the coronavirus continued to mount. The US Federal Reserve unveiled a batch of additional aggressive measures to support the economy, but the boost was countered when a stalemated United States economy again failed to advance a key stimulus measure. Meanwhile, German ministers agreed to blast through a constitutional limit on government deficits with 156 billion euros of new borrowing to fight the impact of the novel coronavirus. "We're showing that, right from the beginning, we will fight with all our might against this crisis calling into question healthcare for our citizens or economic activity in this country," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said. But markets continued to plummet, moving inversely to the mounting number of coronavirus cases globally. More than 1.7 billion people have been asked to stay home in over 50 countries and territories … [Read more...] about World stocks drop again on mounting economic toll from coronavirus

SAN FRANCISCO: U.S. businesses expect a "very large and very negative impact" from the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to slow its spread, according to a survey published on Monday by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. Quarter-ahead sales growth forecasts fell to below zero, from 5per cent last quarter, the Small Business Uncertainty survey showed, "the starkest swing" from one quarter to the next in the survey's six-year history, the Atlanta Fed said. Two-thirds of those responding in the first week of the March 9-20 survey expected on average a 9per cent decline in sales from the virus. In the second week 85per cent of respondents expected an average 16per cent decline in sales. "We are still months away from confidently gauging COVID-19's impact on output growth," Atlanta Fed economists wrote in a blog on the survey's findings. But the survey "indicates that firms are bracing for a huge negative impact on their businesses." Interestingly, the firms surveyed did not signal … [Read more...] about US businesses see big hit from coronavirus, Fed survey shows