Fed's dilemma: Prioritizing which market, set of companies or group of institutions to help next as it plans how to leverage more than $450 billion of seed money from the Treasury into perhaps $4.5 trillion in credit programs by hpschneider
WASHINGTON - When the Federal Reserve polled Wall Street about financial stability risks last fall, “global pandemic” didn’t make the list.
The challenge now facing the central bank, in consultation with the Treasury, is prioritizing which market, set of companies or group of institutions to help next as it plans how to leverage more than $450 billion of seed money from the Treasury into perhaps $4.5 trillion in credit programs. That “Main Street Lending Program” is expected soon and analysts say it may provide up to $1 trillion for businesses with between 500 and several thousand employees - too big for small business programs but too small to issue bonds or get loans from public capital markets.
But if the aim is to have a post-pandemic economy where conditions match the steady growth and historically low unemployment of earlier this year, as Fed officials hope, the list of other problems to address is a long one. It remains to be seen how broad the Fed’s assistance for them will be. A proposal offered by Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives in an initial draft of the rescue bill suggested the Fed directly finance purchases of medical equipment and other costs of responding to the pandemic, an open-ended commitment to keeping states and cities afloat.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fed balance sheet increases to record $5.86 trillionThe Federal Reserve's balance sheet increased to a record $5.86 trillion this week and the central bank reported greater use of some of its newly launched liquidity facilities, all part of its efforts to keep markets functioning smoothly amid heightened volatility related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more »
Grocery Workers Keep America Fed, While Fearing For Their Own Safety'It's definitely eye-opening,' says a Kroger cashier in West Virginia. 'Because people are now saying: 'Oh, my God, these people [working at grocery stores] deserve hazard pay.' But these are the same people who say we don't deserve $15 an hour.'
Read more »
Tenants fed up with noise, dust, and water shutoffs from renovations amid coronavirusSome tenants have been alarmed that vacant apartments are continuing to be renovated in apartment buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic, questioning why such work is being permitted to proceed.
Read more »
Indonesia central bank says in talks with U.S. Fed, China on swap linesIndonesia's central bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve have been 'discussing intensively' for a potential currency swap and repurchase line, Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo told a call with investors on Thursday.
Read more »
Joe Exotic's Ex-Producer Claims Joe Shot Horse, Fed It to Tigers'Tiger King' producer Rick Kirkham recalls a horrifying story between Joe Exotic and an old horse.
Read more »
Economists warn full recovery could 'take years' as Fed index sees worse collapse than during the Great RecessionThe global economy is also on course for its worst year since the end of the Second World War, Capital Economics said.
Read more »