Your Evening Briefing
Your Evening Briefing
(Bloomberg) --
Ever since his improbable electoral college victory in 2016, President Donald Trump has tied his fortunes to the stock market. Though he inherited a chugging economy built under the policies of his predecessor, at no time in modern history has a U.S. leader claimed more credit for share prices. But after a catastrophic sell-off triggered by the oil standoff, a worldwide pandemic and the administration’s slowness to respond, Trump’s bull market is now his bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 30% of its value, wiping out all of its gains since the real estate developer became president three years ago. Here’s what it means for the global economy.
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Here are today’s top stories
As efforts to contain the coronavirus intensify, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is skyrocketing. Women in particular are at high economic risk. The Senate on Wednesday approved a relief package passed by the House four days ago that includes paid sick leave and financial assistance for coronavirus testing.
After weeks of Trump downplaying the threat, and mistakes by federal agencies that first refused to use an international test and then made their own defective version, governors and mayors have stepped into the coronavirus breach. Trump, meanwhile, now claims he knew it was going to be a pandemic all along.
The White House announced a series of new steps to combat the growing pandemic, including ordering Navy hospital ships to both coasts and allowing doctors to work across state borders.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the likely Democratic presidential nominee after winning primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona on Tuesday night.
Detroit automakers will temporarily shut down their U.S. plants in an effort to slow the virus’s spread. Some Amazon drivers, by contrast, received a single wipe to clean their vans before their shifts.
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which backstop about $5 trillion worth of home loans, will halt foreclosures for 60 days.
Bloomberg Businessweek Special Report, The Lost Year: Trump staked his reelection on a booming economy. Not so much anymore.
What you’ll need to know tomorrow
- Coronavirus cases exceed 205,000; more than 8,200 are dead.
- U.S. hospital workers have resorted to making their own masks.
- Oil sank below $25 a barrel for the first time since 2003.
- Russia started the oil price war, but Saudi Arabia aims to finish it.
- Cash-hungry U.S. companies could pull $700 billion from banks.
- Mnuchin says economic fallout of virus could be worse than 2008.
- Emirates may ground its fleet of massive A380s due to the virus.
What you’ll want to see in Bloomberg Photos
From Los Angeles to New York City and New Orleans, thoroughfares that would normally be teeming with people as spring approaches are empty and quiet. The reality of the coronavirus pandemic has taken hold of the world’s largest economy. Empty is the new normal.
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