Key Points
- Fed policymakers worry growth plateauing, pledge more support 1
There is “no limit” to the amount of bond buying the Fed can do, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida told CNN International on Tuesday. adding that the Fed could also ease policy further with forward guidance and will keep its lending backstops in place as long as needed. 1
Business owners are “nervous again,” Ralph Bostic, president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, said in webcast remarks to the Tennessee Business Roundtable. “There is a real sense this might go on longer than we have planned for.” 1
The next three to six weeks could prove critical in the pace of an economic recovery that Bostic suggested may plateau sooner and at a lower pace than has been expected. 1
Government data show, and unemployment, at 11.1%, is higher than it was in any downturn since the Great Depression. 1
A Fed survey released on Tuesday morning showed Americans may be hunkering down for a longer-than-expected fight against the virus and its economic fallout. 1
If not, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Tuesday, the economy faces “some very real risks” as some businesses and households struggle to pay bills and repay debt. 1
“It will be important to watch the number of U.S. deaths in coming weeks and whether greater questions will be asked about the extent of necessary restrictions,” said NAB economist Tapas Strickland. 2