Updates and Support on COVID-19

Q3 revealed strong domestic demand, but the rebound is short-lived as Q4 macroeconomic conditions are much less favorable for growth. With the absence of any new fiscal stimulus before year-end, the progress of the US job market stalled, and political uncertainties underway, the recovery should be much slower in Q4 2020.

At its Wednesday meeting, the Fed suggested that it is likely to hold interest rates near 0% through 2023. It was the first meeting since Powell’s Jackson Hole speech when he announced the policy shift to “inflation targeting.”

The unemployment rate smashed through expectations of around 9.8%, and instead made an epic 1.8% descent (the second largest ever after June’s 2.2%) to 8.4%. Read more from Dan North.