Maria Bartiromo on market gains: 'We’ve got some signs of optimism'
Maria Bartiromo discusses if the U.S. economy will rebound and what a fourth COVID-19 relief package might include
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Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo said on “America’s Newsroom” that U.S. equity markets are soaring for a second straight day because “we’ve got some signs of optimism.”
Bartiromo made the comment Tuesday as COVID-19 cases continue to show signs of moderating in some of the so-called hot spots, including New York City.
“We hope that the number of deaths continue to slow and eventually go away and that’s what’s going to drive markets,” Bartiromo said.
Bartiromo acknowledged on Tuesday that “we probably will get a fourth stimulus package,” noting that President Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have indicated that it is being discussed.
She asked, “What should it include? Do we need it to include direct payments to individuals again? Or do we need it to include money to the states because the states are also seeing an incredible drop in revenue?”
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Last month, President Trump signed a more than $2 trillion legislative package to combat the coronavirus pandemic and send economic relief to workers and businesses squeezed by restrictions meant to stop the outbreak’s spread. The legislation amounts to the costliest stimulus plan in U.S. history. It includes checks for most Americans, an increase in unemployment aid, help for small business as well as a massive loan fund for corporations.
Under the plan, small businesses can apply for federal subsidized, low-interest loans for the lesser of $10 million or a percentage of their payroll. The government will pay off the loans made by the bank in their entirety if the business maintains its workforce.
On Tuesday, Bartiromo said that businesses are “going to need more than what we just saw with the Phase 3 deal.”
“I think that everybody agrees on that because it’s not necessarily going to replace the business that's lost,” she continued. “It may keep people in the job and that's exactly what the treasury secretary wanted, make sure that money goes out the door to employees even though they're not working and they’re at home, but it’s not going to bring business back and it seems to me we're going to need a fourth stimulus package here.”
During a White House press briefing on Monday, President Trump told reporters a second round of direct payments to individuals could “very well” happen.
“It is absolutely under serious consideration,” he said.
“We will need another stimulus package, markets probably know that and we will likely see the market react to a fourth stimulus package as well,” Bartiromo said on Tuesday.
She added that “we’ll get through this, it's just that it’s going to take more money in people's pockets to do so.”
Bartiromo also noted on Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak hit the country as the U.S. was experiencing “the strongest economy we have seen in a generation.”
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“We continue to see the tools there, the underpinnings for things to resume the way that it was, but it all depends on how long this goes on, the duration of this,” she added.
Fox Business’ Jonathan Garber contributed to this report.
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