Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Economy Shaky As More People Use Up Savings During Pandemic, Fed Warns
The Wall Street Journal: Fed Says Virus Poses Considerable Risks, Maintains Low-Rate Pledges
The Federal Reserve said the coronavirus pandemic poses considerable risks for the U.S. economy despite recent gains, and officials made no changes on Thursday to their commitment to provide sustained stimulus. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said they were monitoring two prominent risks to the recent rebound in economic activity: one from rising infection rates and another from households exhausting savings after earlier fiscal relief measures had dissipated. (Timiraos, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Unemployment Claims Held Nearly Steady Last Week
The pace of the labor market recovery showed fresh signs of cooling last week, with new applications for unemployment benefits holding nearly steady as virus cases surged in several states. Weekly initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 751,000 in the week ended Oct. 31, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was the lowest level since mid-March, but was well above the 217,000 claims filed in late February, before economic shutdowns to control the spread of the new coronavirus began. (Mackrael, 11/5)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Unemployment Claims Go Up, Economists Wary Of Growing COVID Cases
First-time claims for unemployment rose modestly in Texas last week while dropping slightly nationally. Just over 36,000 workers filed new claims last week, up about 1,000 from the previous week. U.S. claims slipped to 751,000, down 7,000 from the previous week. Unemployment claims have fallen substantially since record highs in late March and early April, when initial claims in the state surpassed 300,000 per week and approached 7 million nationally. Economists, however, say the recovery has slowed and fear the resurgence of COVID-19 could lead to another economic contraction. (Carballo, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal: Americans Were Given The Coronavirus Option To Raid Their 401(K). Most Didn’t.
Despite the financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic, few American households have raided their retirement accounts to make ends meet. Faced with the prospect of surging unemployment and a declining economy, Congress in March passed a law that temporarily allows Americans to use their retirement money today. But so far, there hasn’t been a rush of funds out of accounts. (Tergesen and Driebusch, 11/5)
