White House officials have already discussed pitching a payroll tax cut and a capital gains tax cut, creating 50-year Treasury bonds and waiving businesses of liability from workers who contract COVID-19.
As Americans await relief from the $2 trillion stimulus package passed less than two weeks ago, the Trump administration and Congress have begun deliberations on a fourth aid plan intended to alleviate coronavirus-caused economic pain.
On Monday, Trump’s chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters that he’s considering a coronavirus-related Treasury bond to raise cash for relief efforts.
The $2.2 trillion CARES Act that Trump signed at the end of March includes a cash check of up to $1,200 for individuals who earn less than $99,000, expanded unemployment benefits, and $350 billion in loans for small businesses.
The Small-Biz Superman Is Here
The Federal Reserve announced on Monday that it would take new action to support America’s small businesses. Although the recent coronavirus prevention measures have done some humanitarian good, they have led to mass business closures throughout the country.
The central bank plans to pump up lending to small businesses by encouraging banks to make more loans available through the newly implemented Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
In a statement Monday, the central bank said that it will set up a facility to provide term financing backed by PPP loans. This move would potentially free up room on lenders’ balance sheets so they could make more money available to businesses in need.
According to the administration, more than $40 billion worth of loans to small businesses have already been processed as of Monday afternoon. That equates to more than 130,000 loans.
The Small Business Administration launched the Paycheck Protection Program on Friday – a measure implemented as part of Congress’ multi-trillion-dollar stimulus package. The program provides forgivable loans of up to $10 million to small businesses, as long as they keep their staffing levels and salaries constant.
Coronavirus Halting & Markets Reacting
Stocks jumped on Monday, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous week.
Investors were encouraged by data that shows a slowing in the number of daily U.S. coronavirus cases. However, it is still too early to determine whether this will be lasting trend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,627.46 points higher, up more than 7% to 22,679.99. The S&P 500 gained 7%, closing at 2,663.68, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 7.3% to 7,913.24.
The major averages rallied to their session highs in the final minutes of the session, with the Dow briefly trading above 1,700 points.
Of all the key players, Boeing gained more than 19% fueling the Dow’s rise.
Raytheon Technologies, American Express and Visa also rose more than 11% each.
The S&P 500 was led higher by the utilities, consumer discretionary and tech sectors, all of which closed more than 7% higher.
Retail stocks such as Nordstrom, Kohl’s and Macy’s rose sharply as well.