Marketplace

Fed Chairman Jay Powell is live-streaming during this crisis like everyone else, and today he warned of a prolonged recession caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Today we’ll break down his remarks and what Congress might do about it. Plus: why home prices aren’t falling and how children’s TV changed America.

Over 200 economists have signed a letter asking the Trump administration not to impose its new “Buy American” restrictions on medical supplies over fears they’ll exacerbate shortages and raise prices. Today, we do the numbers. Plus: the life of a hairstylist in a reopening state, what it would look like if a major American airline went under and a conversation with the CEO of Twitch.

Across the country, many nonessential businesses and restaurants are reopening. But when the public is scared of the ongoing pandemic, we might be opening the door for more demand shock. Plus: 78% of the people who lost their jobs last month were temporarily laid off. Should they feel optimistic about going back to their original jobs? And we’ll look at the market for masks and rental housing.

Nearly twenty-two million jobs lost and unemployment at 14.7% for April. It was a bad jobs report, no way around it. But there’s more to it then that. Today we dive into how furloughs are counted, what this means for people trying to make rent and what the “diffusion index” can tell us. Plus: We’re watching a lot of TV, but do people want to watch shows about the pandemic?

Today the NASDAQ closed up for the year. We’re not sure how you square that, except by once again digging into why the stock market is not the economy. We’ve also got Chinese trade and small business loan forgiveness on the docket today. Plus: How are you sleeping?

The economic effects of this pandemic are not equal. In our latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, we found a third of people have lost work, while about one-sixth of them are working more hours. Today we dig into why. Plus, the view on the ground as Texas reopens, a conversation with the CEO of Land O’Lakes and how the flower business is faring ahead of Mother’s Day.

The newest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll is out today, and it paints a stark picture of how Americans are feeling amid the coronavirus crisis. We’ll dig into one figure in particular: more than four in 10 Americans say they couldn’t come up with the money for an unexpected $250 expense. Plus, how the health care system is changing, what it’s like to be making COVID-19 tests right now and how hazard pay works.

The Small Business Administration says that as of Friday, banks have loaned out $175 billion from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. That’s good news for businesses and the banks lending to them. Today, we look at how long that money will last amid a new surge of applications. Plus, what’s going on with Texas oil, how consumer prices are changing and what to expect from Disney’s first-quarter earnings.

Even as the economy reopens, returning to work could mean more than just changes to the physical space. Workers could be on staggered schedules and shorter weeks with scheduled remote days. Today, we look at office life post-coronavirus. Plus, fiscal vs. monetary policy, the crush of customer service calls and where those $1,200 checks are going.

We now know that more than 30 million people have filed for unemployment since early March. That’s roughly 1 in 5 people who had a job back in February, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But when we get unemployment numbers for April, the rate will likely be far below 20%. So what gives? Today we do the numbers. Plus: AMC bans Universal Pictures, corporate earnings are terrible and influencers are still … influencing.