“Rarely has the metaphor been more apt: Washington is fiddling while America burns. Congress and the Trump administration are barely negotiating anymore while unemployment remains at levels rarely seen since the Great Depression.
“Do not be fooled by the stock market’s vitality (which reflects the strength of a handful of stocks that now dominate the indexes): The conditions for tens of millions of Americans are bleak, with few jobs, low incomes and a soaring number of business failures. And despite these emergency conditions — worse than during the crisis of 2008 — Washington simply cannot get its act together.”
““For the first time in U.S. history, American consumers are facing an imminent economic collapse because of political gridlock in Washington D.C.,” said LegalShield CEO Jeff Bell.
““The earlier actions of Congress and the Federal Reserve forestalled a full meltdown of the U.S. economy, but without additional economic aid now our data suggest that we are on the precipice of an epic wave of small business and personal bankruptcies.”
“Over the past few weeks, the expiration of the extra $600 in enhanced unemployment insurance… has dominated headlines.
“But it’s not just the enhanced benefit that is on the line — millions could run out of jobless benefits altogether by the end of the year if Congress does not pass legislation extending eligibility, according to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/13/millions-could-exhaust-all-of-their-jobless-benefits-by-january.html
“Though recessions almost always hit lower-wage workers the hardest, the pandemic is causing especially large gaps between rich and poor, and between White and minority households.
“It is also widening the gap between big and small businesses.”
“…the Federal Reserve didn’t just maintain corporate America’s access to credit — it allowed it to enjoy historically cheap borrowing costs in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression… All else equal, it is a good thing that the Fed saved Wall Street.
“Unfortunately, though, all else is not equal — because Congress failed to do Main Street the same favor.
“The CARES Act provided America’s small-business sector with significant support. But Congress failed to make that support an open-ended entitlement for all U.S. businesses and attached strings to the program that rendered it useless for the most vulnerable small firms.”
“Unprecedented government stimulus has allowed more companies to borrow at lower rates than ever before.
“Yet amid the credit boom, smaller firms that power America’s economic engine are often being shut out, hamstringing the recovery just as it begins.”
“This is not recession [in the UK], it’s something far worse. Economic recovery may happen quicker than expected but the real rollercoaster is yet to come.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/this-is-not-recession-its-something-far-worse-5tffk03lg
“UK Companies are receiving thousands of applications for jobs which would only have attracted a handful of applicants before the coronavirus pandemic, research has found.
“The most popular role was an entry-level position as a paralegal which received 4,228 applications.”
“Thierry Hombert [is] selling his Paris home to make ends meet. While millions of employees across Europe have been cast lifelines by government furlough programs meant to limit mass unemployment, Mr. Hombert and legions of other workers on precarious irregular contracts were excluded from that support.
““It’s people like us who are falling through the cracks — and we are many,” said Mr. Hombert, 50…”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/business/europe-precarious-workers.html
“Europe’s summer tourist season may be officially past saving.
“There are early signs that attempts to restart travel and draw tourists back to the world’s most visited region are floundering, placing millions of jobs at risk and reducing the chance of a quick economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/business/tui-europe-bookings-collapse-covid/index.html
“China’s retail sales slipped in July, dashing expectations for a modest rise, as consumers in the world’s second-largest economy failed to shake off wariness about the coronavirus, while the factory sector’s recovery struggled to pick up pace.”
“Japan’s economy will contract more than previously expected and suffer mild deflation during the current fiscal year, analysts predict, underscoring the fragile nature of the recovery from the devastating coronavirus pandemic.”
“Brazil’s headwinds are considerable, says Craig Mellow in Barron’s.
“With public-sector debt “ballooning” towards 100% of GDP, the state cannot afford generous fiscal support measures for much longer, says Alberto Ramos of Goldman Sachs. Brazil has “one of the weakest fiscal positions” of any emerging economy.”
https://moneyweek.com/investments/stockmarkets/emerging-markets/601813/brazil-drowns-in-its-own-debt
“The Turkish lira has depreciated rapidly since the turn of the year, recently notching its weakest ever level against the dollar, but analysts suggest the risks are still skewed to the downside…
“Central to the currency’s weakness has been Turkey’s unconventional monetary and fiscal policy moves and the diminished independence of its central bank…”
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/13/turkeys-plummeting-lira-could-have-further-to-fall-analysts-say.html
“Discussion of wars and invading Greek islands is of course a tactic used by the regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to distract the Turkish population from the woeful economic situation.
“…an unemployment rate of 24.6% is “the closest to reality,” and not the official rate of 12.9%, showing just how deep Turkey’s economic decline is at the moment.”
“The stock market hasn’t seen a 100-day gain this strong since 1933 [didn’t Germany find itself with a dynamic new Chancellor that year?]…
“…both the current rally and the 1933 rebound follow historically steep selloffs that accompanied global cataclysms.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-hasnt-made-a-move-this-big-since-1933-11597337248
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