The United States grew at a 4% annual rate in the final three months of 2020 and shrank last year by the largest amount in 74 years. The coronavirus inflicted the worst economic freeze since the end of World War II, the economy contracted 3.5% and clouded the outlook for this year.
The U.S. economy suffered its biggest blow since the Great Depression in the second quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic shattered consumer and business spending, and a nascent recovery is under threat from a resurgence in new cases of coronavirus.
The U.S. economy still appears headed for a V-shaped recovery despite some setbacks in efforts to reopen state economies that had been shuttered for the coronavirus, a top White House adviser said on Monday.
The U.S. economy unexpectedly added jobs in May after suffering record losses in the prior month, offering the clearest signal yet that the downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was probably over, though the road to recovery could be long.
The U.S. central bank that has already slashed interest rates to zero reiterated on Wednesday they will stay there until the economy is clearly back on track. It has also rolled out around US$ 2 trillion in lending commitments, and Fed chief Jerome Powell said it was ready to do more as needed.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates near zero and repeated a vow to do what it takes to shore up the U.S. economy amid an ongoing coronavirus pandemic that will not only “weigh heavily” on the near-term outlook but poses “considerable risks” for the medium term as well.
Millions of Americans who have been thrown out of work during the coronavirus pandemic have been unable to register for unemployment benefits since the U.S. economy entered a free fall, according to a poll released on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States”, Trump said in a tweet late on Monday.
Facebook Inc said on Monday that it has removed events in Nebraska, New Jersey and California promoting protests against stay-at-home measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the new coronavirus.
President Donald Trump said on Monday it was his decision when to reopen the U.S. economy, not that of state governors, but legal experts disagree and governors are going their own way.