Coronavirus US news: 'Dow erases all its gains since Trump took office' as it’s revealed outbreak could kill 2 million
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Your support makes all the difference.The stock market has suffered yet another historic day of losses as the Dow Jones reportedly lost the entirety of economic gains seen under Donald Trump’s presidency amid increasing anxieties over the global coronavirus pandemic.
The US Centre for Disease Control meanwhile released a grim outlook for a worst-case scenario surrounding the pandemic, in which 214 million people would be impacted and nearly two million would die as a result of the outbreak. The Trump administration released its own plan-of-action while seeking a nearly $1 trillion economic relief package that could include sending checks to all Americans in the coming weeks to help battle back against the economic downturn.
The number of total cases in the US surpassed 7,000 on Wednesday, according to the latest data, as the death toll rose to at least 117. Experts have said the true rate of infections is likely far higher nationwide, citing a lack in testing.
Stocks tumbled close to 8 percent on Wall Street Wednesday and wiped out the last of the gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average since Mr Trump's inauguration.
Even prices for investments seen as very safe fell as investors rushed to raise cash and the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.
Markets have been incredibly volatile for weeks as Wall Street and the White House acknowledge the rising likelihood that the outbreak will cause a recession.
The typical day this month has seen the stock market swing up or down by 4.9 percent. Over the last decade, it was just .4 percent.
It was just a day before that the Dow surged more than 5 percent after Mr Trump promised massive aid to the economy, but the number of infections keeps climbing, and the Dow slumped to its lowest level since 2016.
The S&P 500, which dictates how 401(k) accounts perform much more than the Dow, is down 31 percent from its record set last month, though it's still up nearly 9 percent since Election Day 2016.
The S&P 500's slide was so sharp that trading was halted for 15 minutes Wednesday. The losses deepened after trading resumed, and the S&P 500 was down 7.9 percent, as of 3:20 pm. Eastern time.
As big swaths of the economy retrench while much of society comes to a halt in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, investors have clamored for Congress, Federal Reserve and other authorities around the world to support the economy until it can begin to reopen.
They got a big shot of that Tuesday, when the Trump administration briefed lawmakers on a program that could surpass $1 trillion and the Fed announced its latest moves to support markets.
But the worldwide number of known infections has toped 200,000, which creates more uncertainty about how badly the economy is getting hit, how much profit companies will make and how many companies may go into bankruptcy due to a cash crunch.
"It's, it's a very tough situation", Mr Trump said at a news conference, during which losses for stocks accelerated.
He added: "You have to do things. You have to close parts of an economy that six weeks ago were the best they've ever been.... And then one day you have to close it down in order to defeat this enemy."
Additional reporting by AP. Read live updates as they came in below:
Ivanka Trump criticised for giving childcare advice during social distancing
The president's favourite child is being ridiculed on social media after giving advice on entertaining the kids during self-isolation, with many pointing out the hypocrisy of her association with an administration whose dismissal of the situation early on has proved so costly and others taking exception to her privilege and the assumptions they betray.
Here's James Crump on the Trumps.
Mike Pence aide denies 20 per cent US unemployment rumours
Marc Short, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, has said there were no forecasts of 20 per cent unemployment in the United States because of the coronavirus outbreak, after reports suggested such a rise was a possibility.
Treasury xecretary Steven Mnuchin had told Republican senators on Tuesday that failure to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package could lead to US unemployment as high as 20 per cent, a person familiar with the closed-door meeting told Reuters.
Short said Mnuchin was talking about different actions under a wide range of scenarios. "Nobody is right now that I know forecasting a 20 per cent unemployment from the coronavirus," he told Fox Business Network. "The foundation of our economy remains incredibly strong. This is a short-term, we believe, challenge."
Mnuchin met with senators to persuade them to pass a $1trn stimulus package that would send cash to Americans within two weeks and backstop airlines and other companies.
Pence leads the White House task force created to coordinate the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak.
"We're trying to make sure that the people who are impacted in the short term get the resources they need in a quick fashion and that's what secretary Mnuchin and this president are looking to do," Short said.
"We believe the economy will bounce back in a hurry once we get over the hump of this virus."
Fox hosts change tune on coronavirus reporting as Trump declares national emergency
Fox News personalities such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham accused the news media of whipping up “mass hysteria” and being “panic pushers”.
Fox Business host Trish Regan called the alleged media-Democratic alliance “yet another attempt to impeach the president”.
But a week is a long time in this game...
Rand Paul holds up Senate vote on rescue package with doomed amendment
As the Senate prepares to pass a bill to help fund and speed up the response to coronavirus epidemic, Mitch McConnell's fellow Kentucky senator Rand Paul has introduced an amendment that will slow down its passage – even though the amendment has no chance of passing.
The bill being debated, which would provide free coronavirus testing and provisions for unemployment insurance and paid sick leave, has already been passed by the House of Representatives. While some Senators have voiced misgivings about it, with some saying it does not go far enough, the bill looks very likely to pass without dramatic alterations.
Paul’s amendment, however, has no bearing on the substance on the substance of the bill. Instead, it would “require a social security number for purposes of the child tax credit, and to provide the president the authority to transfer funds as necessary, and to terminate United States military operations and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan.”
Andrew Naughtie has the full story.
Trump announces closure of Canadian border to 'non-essential' traffic
The president has just dropped that update on Twitter as the coronavirus crisis deepens.
He has also been dwelling on his own popularity within the Republican Party and prematurely calling time on the 2020 candidacy of Bernie Sanders, who is said to be "assessing" whether he still has a path forward with his advisers.
I love that Trump still hasn't decided whether his slogan is still "Make America Great Again" or "Keep America Great" ("MAGA/KAG").
Coronavirus outbreak may last 18 months and cause critical shortages, government report warns
Chris Riotta has this latest update on the state of play in the US of A as the following developments emerge across the country:
- The White House delays state dinner for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
- Justice Department closes 10 more immigration courts
- New York officials discuss "shelter in place" order as 1,000 cases landmark approaches
- California governor Gavin Newsom says California schools likely to remain closed for rest of school year
- Philadelphia delays non-violent arrests
- Nevada asks ‘non-essential’ small businesses to close
US surgeon general warns of blood shortages
Dr Jerome Adams was on NBC this morning and took the opportunity to warn that the country is running out of donated blood.
"You can still go out and give blood. We’re worried about potential blood shortages in the future. Social distancing does not have to mean social disengagement," he told the programme.
Dr Adams was speaking after the American Red Cross announced on Tuesday that it is facing a "severe blood shortage" due to an "unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations" as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak. Cancellations have already resulted in about 86,000 fewer blood donations, according to the organisation.
"As a nation, this is a time where we must take care of one another including those most vulnerable among us in hospitals,” Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, said.
Dr Adams also said Americans "should be acting as if we have the virus".
"If we do those three things - making sure we’re cleaning our surfaces, making sure we’re washing our hands, and making sure we’re staying six feet away from people - that’s how we will most protect ourselves from this disease," he commented.
"You should not change your approach to mitigation measures based on a positive or a negative test. You could test negative and still be early in the incubation period and still spread coronavirus."
West Virginia senator warns: 'We have no testing, we are not prepared'
Also on TV this AM was West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, who told CNN he did not wish for people to be “lulled into a false sense of security” as his state confirmed its first coronavirus diagnosis.
He said West Virginia''s population is no less vulnerable than anywhere else because it has a higher percentage of elderly people as well as citizens with respiratory issues and diabetes.
“I thought it was just carnage waiting to happen, I wanted to make sure that people understood that they shouldn’t get a false sense of security,” Manchin told John Berman.
His most notable line was on testing, however, saying the reason the state's rate was of infection was so low was because they hadn't been able to check people for the virus (!)
“Up until a couple days ago we only had 40 tests done, now I think we are at 130 or so, but with that being said, John we have no testing, we are not prepared, people think that we are immune from this.”
Manchin said he had spoken to Mike Pence and told him they needed additional testing kits and supplies.
“When it hits my state - and it has hit - it’s going to be absolutely catastrophic,” he said.
Trump spiritual adviser in coronavirus 'seed money' grift
The president's propserity gospel pastor Paula White has been busy exploiting the epidemic to persuade her gullible parishoners to part with their savings. Unbelievable.
Another iffy character giving the president advice is Sanctuary TV pundit and ex-commidities trader Eric Bolling, who thinks he has the answer on how to rescue a crashing economy as the country (and wider world hits a standstill).
He is the author of that celebrated work of literature (soon out in a Penguin Classics edition, no doubt), The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It (2017).
Breaking news: Cases exceed 7,000 in US
The United States has confirmed at least 7,000 cases of coronavirus, according to the latest local and state data, as hospitals prepare to be potentially inundated with patients amid a severe shortage of critical supplies.
With testing ramping up nationwide and governors declaring states of emergency, tens of millions of Americans have isolated themselves in homes and apartments. The death toll in the country has meanwhile risen to at least 117.
Story to come...
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