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The U.S. economy shrank in the second quarter by the fastest rate since the government began keeping track of gross domestic product after World War II, as lockdowns aimed at curbing the coronavirus pandemic decimated economic activity. Gross domestic product, or the value of all goods and services produced by the economy, contracted at a 32.9 percent seasonally adjusted annualized rate in the April through June three month period, according to the preliminary estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis published on Thursday. That marked the steepest drop on records stretching back to 1947 and compared with economists’ forecasts for...

The US economy shrank by an annualized rate of 32.9% between April and June, its sharpest contraction since the second world war, government figures revealed on Thursday, as more signs emerged of the coronavirus pandemic’s heavy toll on the country’s economy. The record-setting quarterly fall in economic growth compared to the same time last year came as another 1.43 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, a second week of rises after a four-month decline. The annualized figure is the largest drop in quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) – the broadest measure of the economy – since records began...

The far-left Politico admitted Tuesday that Democrats are “dreading” the idea of a fast economic boom as America reopens, which explains the anti-science push among many Democrat governors to extend their pointless coronavirus lockdowns. Thanks to these lockdowns, some 40 million people are unemployed, some 40 million lives have been shattered; lines at food pantries seem to go on forever; countless small businesses are in danger of closing or already have… Nevertheless, what America’s oh-so compassionate Democrats dread most is a quick economic rebound that might undermine their grasping desire to hold on to and obtain power. “The general election...

How does one define an economic “reopening”? I think most people would say that a reopening means that everything goes back to the way it was before the crisis; or at least as close as possible. Most people would also say that a reopening is something that will last. Simply declaring “America has reopened” while keeping many restrictions in place in certain parts of the country is a bit of a farce. And, reopening with the intention of implementing lockdowns again in a matter of weeks without explaining the situation to the public is a scam of the highest order....

The German economy contracted 2.2% in the first quarter of 2020, the worst result since the 2008 financial crisis. Experts had expected a contraction of around 2%. The latest data, released by the federal statistics authority Destasis on Friday, also showed revisions to 2019 fourth-quarter figures from zero growth to a contraction of 0.1%. This means Germany is now in a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. The first quarter figures are only a partial indication of how much the pandemic has harmed Europe’s largest economy. […] GDP is expected to shrink even further in the...

April retail sales sank by 16.4 percent to their lowest level on record, as stores and restaurants felt the full weight of a month of coronavirus closures. The monthly sales data, which measures spending at places such as gas stations, restaurants, bars, and stores, was released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The number was worse than economists had been anticipating, with most having forecast a 12 percent drop. By comparison, March sales were down by 8.3 percent, which was at that time the worst decline since records began in 1992.

Another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as massive job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic continued to grow. The new report, which covers the week ending April 18, brings total job losses since the virus outbreak triggered widespread stay-at-home measures five weeks ago to more than 26 million, erasing the entirety of the 22.78 million labor market gains since the Great Recession more than a decade ago. With a labor force that totals about 162 million people, the claims figures suggest the unemployment rate is about 16 percent, or roughly one...

Jobless claim filings continued at a historically unprecedented pace last week with 4.4 million new signups for unemployment insurance, bringing the total of the past five weeks to 26.4 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number represented a decline of 810,000 from the previous week, but the five-week total has now surpassed all of the job gains since the Great Recession. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 4.3 million new claims.

EXCLUSIVE: After spending weeks diving into coronavirus issues over video conferencing, a bipartisan group of 50 House members has crafted a plan for what's needed to reopen the economy safely and help businesses recover from crippling mandatory shutdowns. Fox News got an exclusive first look at the Problem Solvers Caucus plan that outlines specific public health, economic recovery and long-term stimulus plans the group wants Congress and President Trump to embrace as the nation tries to emerge from weekslong quarantines and growing mass layoffs. "The bottom line is people I think are eager for a checklist. They want to understand...

After recovering a chunk of the losses racked up during the worst of the coronavirus-induced selloff last month, the stock market finds itself at a crucial inflection point, writes Alan B Lancz. “The next 45 days may just become the most critical period in U.S. financial history,” he wrote in a newsletter published Wednesday. “While on average we may face a bear market every 10 years, this one is like no other,” he said. The contrarian money manager, who is a disciple of famed investor Sir John Templeton, said that the timing and execution of the reawakening of the U.S....

The new unemployment numbers are out and there's really no way to butter this biscuit, folks. Unless America's economic engine is restarted, we will be plunged into a Great Depression. Since the global pandemic hit our shores, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits. And the only way to stop this economic death spiral is for every freedom-loving citizen to embrace their constitutional rights, take to the streets and demand that their state leaders reopen this nation. As I wrote in "Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left From Killing a Nation," the time has come for...

Under the CARES Act, Congress has invited millions of Americans to stop paying their mortgages. The impact of this massive unfunded mandate is that the U.S. financial system is headed for a potential default when the cash flow expected from millions of Americans does not arrive.

As we speak, President Trump is speaking to the media, part of his daily Wuhan coronavirus presser, where he stresses that the country needs to re-open. He’s right. In four to six weeks, some businesses might be wiped out. American workers are hurting. And there isn’t enough bailout money that can keep the enormity of the US economy afloat. It needs people to shop. It needs activity. It needs to re-open. The Washington Post reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with FEMA, is drafting a blueprint for a phased-in re-opening of the American economy, and President Trump...

U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades. The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday came as millions of Americans have been thrown out of work, and strengthened economists' conviction that the economy is in deep recession. States and local governments have issued "stay-at-home" or "shelter-in-place" orders affecting more than 90% of Americans to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, and abruptly...

It seemed clear several weeks ago this was going to happen. East coast blue state governors and West coast blue state governors are uniting to begin the economic civil war planning to block any White House effort to re-open the U.S. economy. The three step plan seems predictable: (1) Get out ahead of President Trump. (2) Defy the ‘all clear’ and shape economic benefit to their political allies. (3) Then use Fauci’s upcoming dossier to hit the administration for heartlessly opening the economy too early. ♦ On the East Coast the governors of New York (Cuomo), New Jersey (Murphy), Connecticut...

The coronavirus economic freeze could cost 47 million jobs and send the unemployment rate past 32%, according to St. Louis Fed projections. There are nearly 67 million Americans working in jobs that are at a high risk of layoffs, according to the analysis. Economists at the Fed’s St. Louis district project total employment reductions of 47 million, which would translate to a 32.1% unemployment rate, according to a recent analysis of how bad things could get.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, there is no question the U.S. economy is taking a major hit. Economists at Goldman Sachs warn GDP will collapse at a 24% rate, a far cry from the “4, 5, and even 6%” growth scenario presented by President Trump just over two years ago. “We are in a global recession,” Allianz’s Mohamed El-Erian said on Yahoo Finance’s On The Move. “We're in a global recession because of what economic sudden stops do.” Economic contractions often happen gradually, not suddenly, giving policymakers and business leaders some time to adjust so that growth may resume....

Global aviation is shutting down because of the coronavirus outbreak and travel restrictions designed to contain it, and many airlines will need government bailouts within weeks or face bankruptcy..... American Airlines said Saturday it would reduce its international capacity by three quarters between March 16 and May 6. United Airlines said it will be cutting capacity in half for April and May, while Delta is reducing capacity by 40% in the next few months — the largest cut in the company's history. Delta is down to just one flight a day on five European routes....