Stuart Varney's wish list to help the economy recover from COVID-19
Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney shares his recommendations on 'Fox & Friends.'
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Fox News anchor Stuart Varney appeared on “Fox & Friends” Friday to give ideas that would help the economy during the coronavirus shutdown, citing the markets projecting a blow to the market soon.
“We all expect bad news economically in April. The market is trying to figure out how bad that news is going to be and when we can appear on the other side,” the host of “Varney & Co.” said.
Varney said the emphasis must be on putting workers back to work early and prioritizing more funding for small businesses in order to “slow down the layoff rate.”
The number of Americans filing for unemployment surged to 3.28 million last week, shattering a decades-old record in jobless claims as the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses around the country to shutter their doors.
The number eclipsed the previous record of 695,000 set in 1982 and is well above the levels seen in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, the Labor Department said in its weekly report. The data dates back to 1967.
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Estimates varied drastically for how high the number of people who applied in mid-March for unemployment benefits would be, ranging from 1 million to 2.25 million Americans who lost their jobs during the period between March 15 and March 21, but economists agreed it would be grim.
Restaurants, bars, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, automakers and entertainment venues have been hit hard by the pandemic as cities and states, trying to mitigate the spread of the virus, have ordered the closure of non-essential businesses and told residents to stay at home.
Jobless claims bring the first hard evidence that the novel coronavirus is bringing the nation's economy to a grinding halt. But economists have warned the number will likely continue to rise in the coming weeks.
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Varney also said that mortgage companies need support, as well as an effort to “bend the curve” on coronavirus cases to help the economy.
“If you can bend the curve on new cases then you can inspire confidence that we can come out of this soon. At the moment, the market has nicely rallied. Biggest rally in the last three days since 1933.
“Where we’re going to go, I’m not going to forecast but the market wants to look at the other side.”
FOX Business reporter Megan Henney contributed to this report.
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