Coronavirus Update, US Congress Response & Legislation

Ben White, Chief Economic Correspondent for Politico, provides his perspective on the coronavirus-related news in US politics: What's the coronavirus update?

Well, we've gotten at least a little bit of good news that perhaps the rate of deaths in New York City is plateauing and may start to come down. God willing, we'll see if that comes to pass. Also, some indications that if we keep social distancing in place through the end of May, we could see fewer deaths than we worried about and fewer hospital beds need it. So, God willing, that happens.

Do I expect to see any significant movement in the coming weeks that would impact the economy?

I think yes, Congress will at some point come back with another coronavirus package that would be more money for small businesses, more money for states, possibly some infrastructure, but I doubt it.

Is there any other legislation coming out of Washington besides coronavirus?

No, there's not. Congress isn't even in D.C. They'll come back just to do another coronavirus package. But nobody is particularly interested in anything else at this point.