THE FED & THE PRESIDENT
President Donald Trump has repeatedly
demanded that the Federal Reserve do more
to aid the economy, especially in the face of
the coronavirus outbreak. Trump called the Fed
“pathetic” and “slow moving” in a tweet for not
cutting interest rates as low as other central
banks have. He asserted that its failure to do
so has put the United States at a competitive
disadvantage. “The Federal Reserve must be
a leader, not a very late follower, which it has
been!” Trump said in a second tweet.
The Fed slashed its benchmark rate by a half-
point last week — the largest cut since the 2008
financial crisis — to a very low range of 1% to
1.25%. And most Fed watchers expect further
rate cuts in coming weeks. In contrast to Trump,
most economists say rate cuts aren’t likely to
do much to stem the economic damage from
the spreading coronavirus, which has disrupted
factory supply chains and pummeled service
industries like airlines and tourism companies.
HEALTHCARE
Humana is waiving out-of-pocket costs
associated with COVID-19 testing for patients
who meet CDC guidelines at approved labs.
The Louisville, Kentucky, health insurer
also said it would increase the availability
of telemedicine to cut down on potential
exposure for those it insures.
LOW ENERGY
Big oil and gas companies had already been
bracing for slowing global economic growth.
That appears to have been accelerated by the