The Week in Business: Throwing Billions at the Coronavirus
Greetings, fellow stir-crazed humans. While you work your way through your frozen food supply, we’re here to help you parse what’s next in business, tech and the economy, which continues to be devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Keep calm and wash your hands.
What’s Up? (March 15-21)
Finally, Some Relief …
President Trump signed a $100 billion relief package on Wednesday that, at long last, delivers free coronavirus testing. (Beware: Tests are covered, but related medical bills may not be.) The legislation also provides paid leave for up to two weeks, topping out at $511 a day, for Americans who have tested positive, are in the (still lengthy, obstacle-ridden) process of being tested or have been ordered to stay home because of exposure or symptoms. As for those who can’t work because they’re caring for the millions of children whose schools or day care facilities are closed? Some are now eligible for two-thirds of their usual pay — up to $200 per day — for a maximum of 12 weeks.
… But Not For Everyone
Americans aren’t just losing wages because they’re sick or caring for loved ones. They’re also losing their jobs because the economy is crumbling. The most recent report on initial unemployment claims showed a 30 percent spike in the week ending on March 14 — greater than any weekly jump that occurred during (or since) the 2008 financial crisis. And it’s about to look much worse: That data is from before many cities and states took more restrictive measures to “flatten the curve” and forced closings of restaurants, bars, hotels, shops, theaters and countless other businesses. Automakers idled their plants this past week, too, leaving many workers to rely on unemployment insurance. But many out-of-work Americans don’t even have that.
Public Calm, Private Profit
Remember when some lawmakers claimed the coronavirus wasn’t going to be such a big deal? Senator Richard M. Burr, a Republican from North Carolina who is the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, was one of them — at least publicly. Now it’s emerged that just days after Mr. Burr wrote an opinion piece saying that the United States was “better prepared than ever before” to confront the virus, he sold over a million dollars’ worth of stock, avoiding the market collapse to come. Other elected officials with access to high-level briefings made trades, too.
What’s Next? (March 22-28)
No Checks in the Mail. Yet
Senate negotiators have drafted a stimulus proposal of more than $1 trillion that would put cash directly into Americans’ pockets by the end of April. The latest version of the legislation would send some taxpayers checks as large as $1,200. Lower earners would get less, and those who did not earn enough to pay income tax would receive just $600. The same bill would include large corporate tax cuts, loans to big and small businesses, and aid for airlines and other industries hit hardest by the impending downturn, which is looking uglier by the day. Economists are predicting that the U.S. economy will shrink anywhere from 12 to 24 percent in the second quarter, but until the virus is contained, who knows?
A Temporary Tax Break
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on Twitter that Tax Day would be moved from April 15 to July 15. The extension gives wiggle room to the many individuals and businesses who might now be struggling to afford their 2019 taxes or to find time to file their returns in the next few weeks. But if you’re hoping to get a tax refund, Mr. Mnuchin said you should file as soon as possible to get your money more quickly. And taxpayers aren’t totally off the hook in April: The new deadline only applies to federal taxes, not state.
Desperate Measures
If there were ever a time to sacrifice privacy for safety, this might be it — which is why health officials in Britain are building an app that would alert anyone who has come in contact with someone known to be infected with the coronavirus. The initiative is based on China’s methods to contain the outbreak, which appear to have been effective. But will it translate to societies that are more wary of government surveillance and protective of patients’ medical information?
What Else?
The coronavirus has been terrible for most businesses, but great for at least one: the videoconferencing tool Zoom. Elsewhere, the former girlfriend of the disgraced money manager Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, is suing his estate for legal fees to fight claims from the dozens of women who say she helped him carry out sex crimes. And finally, Playboy magazine will end its U.S. print edition after nearly seven decades.
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.