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While the coronavirus economic shock appears to be the largest on record, the fiscal response has also been the fastest and largest response for any postwar downturn ... At the Fed, we will continue to use our tools to their fullest until the crisis has passed and the economic recovery is well under way. Recall that the Fed has lending powers, not spending powers. A loan from a Fed facility can provide a bridge across temporary interruptions to liquidity, and those loans will help many borrowers get through the current crisis. But the recovery may take some time to gather momentum, and the passage of time can turn liquidity problems into solvency problems. Additional fiscal support could be costly, but worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery. This tradeoff is one for our elected representatives, who wield powers of taxation and spending. more »

The most-current resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic from the economists and staff of the [Federal Reserve] Research Division: preliminary and published analyses, daily data updates and projections, data tools, and a timeline of related events and policy responses. For more related analysis and resources from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, see the Bank's official COVID-19 page. more »

By Julia Sneden ... Teaching is a profession that keeps you humble because it's perfectly possible to learn as much from your students as they learn from you (even if they are only five years old). But it's life itself that is the great teacher, for old dogs as well as for the young. Just ask anyone who has had to unravel the intricacies of Medicare or retirement plans: if that's not learning new tricks, I don't know what is. For that matter, ask anyone who has had to learn how to be a good mother-in-law (dicey, but worth it); a grandmother (different from parenting, but also thrilling); or the spouse of a recently retired male who wants only to sit in the house and sulk (not a fun learn, I'm told). Or ask a single person who has had to take on the financial, physical, and emotional planning for retirement years, solo. You learn to cope with these challenging new tricks, the joyous as well as the depressing, because life has handed them to you and refusal isn't an option. more »

“The FDA considers the sale and promotion of fraudulent COVID-19 products to be a threat to the public health. We have an aggressive surveillance program that routinely monitors online sources for health fraud products, especially during a significant public health issue such as this one,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “We understand consumers are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 and urge them to talk to their health care providers, as well as follow advice from other federal agencies about how to prevent the spread of this illness. We will continue to aggressively pursue those that place the public health at risk and hold bad actors accountable.” more »