A new record of 6.6 million Americans apply for benefits
San José, CA – New claims for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits doubled from record numbers just a week earlier. On Thursday, April 2, the Department of Labor reported that more than 6.6 million people applied for state unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending March 28. This means that almost 10 MILLION people lost their jobs and applied for UI benefits in just the last two weeks of March. This economic crisis has caused more job losses in two weeks than the entire 2007 to 2009 recession, where 8 million jobs were lost.
San José, CA – Many immigrants won’t be able to get help from the bipartisan COVID-19 pandemic aid bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. More than 4 million undocumented immigrants who are paying taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, will not qualify for the $1200 per person benefit because they have no Social Security number. Another 5 million American citizen children with undocumented parents also will not get the $500 per child benefit.
San José, CA – The U.S. Senate has failed twice to pass a Republican-backed economic stimulus bill worth over a trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000). Opposition to the bill comes from its top-down (or in the 1930’s Great Depression term, ‘trickle down’) approach. The bill would provide hundreds of billions of loans to corporations that would not have to be paid back, just as in the loans made to U.S. auto makers after the financial crisis in 2008. It would also give direct cash handouts, with almost half of all households getting half of what middle and higher income households would get.
Federal Reserve takes extreme measures to protect wealthy
San José, CA – Last week the financial news was dominated by the falling stock market, which had its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. But behind the scenes the U.S. Federal Reserve, or Fed, was working feverishly to prevent another financial crisis, taking actions not even done during the 2008 crash.
Caracas, Venezuela – A Freedom Road Socialist Organization labor delegation toured the Canaima laptops and tablets factory in Caracas, Venezuela on March 12. The Canaima plant is located within walking distance of the bridge where U.S. puppet Juan Guaido launched a failed coup d’état April 30, 2019. Upon arrival, leading representatives of the Canaima assembly plant greeted the American Teamsters with genuine smiles and warm handshakes.
San José, CA – On Thursday, March 19, the Department of Labor reported a surge of applications for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite into the economy. For the week ending March 14, a seasonally adjusted 281,000 claims were filed, up 70,000 (or one-third) from the week before and much greater than the predicted 220,000. A National Public Radio poll also conducted last week showed that 18% of all households had already lost income from layoffs or reduced work hours.
San José, CA – On Sunday, March 15, the Federal Reserve bank hit the panic button, dropping interest rates by a full percentage point to near zero. The last time that Fed did this was in December 2008 during the financial crisis. The Federal Reserve also pledged to restart the Quantitative Easing or QE program of longer-term bond buying, first started in November 2008. Trump’s Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin also vowed to go to congress this coming week to restart emergency financial powers for the federal government in addition to the Fed’s actions.
Caracas, Venezuela – The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) labor delegation met today with Tibisay Lucena, president of the CNE (the National Electoral Council) to discuss the upcoming elections. Lucena spoke about this election as very important in the face of U.S aggression and the economic war.
Minneapolis, MN – Worldwide, cases of COVID-19 have broken the 100,000 mark. There are more than 400 cases in the United States, a number that is rising every day. That number is likely much higher, but test kits remain in short supply.
San José, CA – On Friday, March 6, the Labor Department reported that 273,000 new jobs were created in January, driving the unemployment down to 3.5%. But despite this strong job report, U.S. stocks fell again; the broadest S&P 500 was down 50 points or about 1.75%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is made up of 30 large companies, fell less than 1% as investors may have felt larger companies are safer havens. But the real flight was to bonds, with the ten-year U.S. Treasury Bond interest rate falling to another record low of 0.75%.
Coronavirus fear strikes back after a day of gains
San José, CA – On Thursday, March 5, the day after U.S. stocks soared on hopes that a Biden presidency would be better for Wall Street, economic worries about the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) drove down stocks again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 1000 points, or 3.5%, with other averages falling a bit less. Interest rates on the ten-year U.S. Treasury Bonds fell to another record low of less than 0.92%, showing both fear among U.S. investors and expectations of weaker economic growth.
Minneapolis, MN – Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Political Secretary Steff Yorek stated today, March 4, “As COVID-19 spreads here in the United States, the potential exists for the corporate health care system to be overwhelmed. American capitalism has developed a health care system that’s poorly equipped to do basic public health. There is no profit in disease prevention.”
San José, CA – On Tuesday, March 3, the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, cut interest rates by one-half of one percent. This emergency action was taken between the regular Fed meetings every six weeks. This was the first time that the Fed had acted between meetings since the financial crisis in October of 2008.
St. Paul, MN – The Anti-War Committee is joining with the Climate Justice Committee to unwelcome Vice President Mike Pence when he comes to Saint Paul, 5 p.m., March 5, at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront, 11 E Kellogg Boulevard.
Trump tweets while novel Coronavirus infections surge outside China
San José, CA – For a second day in a row, U.S. stock prices fell about 3% Tuesday, February 25. After a 1000-point drop on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 900 points, or more than 3%, while the broader S&P 500 fell 3%. Investors fled to buy bonds, pushing their prices up and their interest rate down to all-time record lows, with the ten-year U.S. government bond interest rate falling to 1.35%. Typically falling interest rates show fear of slower economic growth or even a recession ahead.
Dow Jones Industrial Average falls More than 1000 points
San José, CA – U.S. stocks got a reality check on Monday, February 24, with the Dow falling more than 1000 points, or 3.5%. The NASDAQ index, with a heavy representation of technology company stocks, fell a bit more, while the broadest measure of the stock market, the S&P 500 fell a bit less.
