• President Donald Trump said social distancing guidelines will remain in place until at least the end of April, pulling back from an earlier assertion that the world’s largest economy would reopen by Easter, and predicted that by June 1, “we will be well on our way to recovery.” His decision came after public health experts, including his own advisers, pushed back on the idea of reopening the economy by April 12, warning of dire health consequences, including a higher number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. (The New York Times) 

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Chief Financial Officer Peg Broadbent has become the first known senior Wall Street executive to die of complications related to the coronavirus. The company named Teri Gendron, current CFO of the investment bank’s financial services division, as Broadbent’s interim successor. (Financial Times) 

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on a Sunday talk show that the government won’t give financial firms a large paycheck to implement the $2 trillion economic relief package passed last week, and he promised “full transparency” for the aid given to companies. Mnuchin declined to say if the inspector general, a position created by the law to oversee the funds given to companies, will be allowed to testify and report to Congress. (The Wall Street Journal) 

The coronavirus crisis is exposing how the economy was not strong as it seemed
David J. Lynch, The Washington Post

In the last month, the $21 trillion U.S. economy endured a remarkable and disorienting reversal, plunging from prosperity into an unprecedented deep freeze. The coronavirus has left businesses from giant corporations to the corner bar struggling for survival. 

Trump adviser outlines cautious approach for reopening economy
Rachel Roubein, Politico 

A new report co-authored by President Donald Trump’s former FDA commissioner suggests the country wouldn’t broadly reopen anytime soon, as the Trump administration weighs whether to ease nationwide measures aimed at slowing the coronavirus. The country doesn’t yet appear to meet the proposed criteria for reopening schools and businesses laid out in the paper co-written by Scott Gottlieb, who has continued to advise the Trump administration. 

Federal Reserve Considering Additional Support for State, Local Government Finance
Nick Timiraos and Heather Gillers, The Wall Street Journal

Federal Reserve officials are reviewing new ways to support financing for state and local governments, many of which are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic and will face huge borrowing needs as revenues plunge, according to people familiar with the matter. The economic-rescue legislation Congress approved this week asks the Fed to charge headlong into areas it has long considered taboo—supporting lending to businesses, cities and states. 

The dealmaker’s dealmaker: Mnuchin steps in as Trump’s negotiator, but president’s doubts linger with economy in crisis
Jeff Stein et al., The Washington Post

At a White House news conference on Wednesday, President Trump lavished praise on Steven Mnuchin for shepherding the $2 trillion stimulus package sailing through Congress, thanking his “great” treasury secretary for successfully handling negotiations on Capitol Hill. But in the tense days of negotiations leading up to the final votes, Trump routinely fielded phone calls from conservative lawmakers and allies lamenting that Mnuchin was cutting a raw deal for the president.

After Fed Unleashes Firepower, Washington Rearms Central Bank
Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal

The Federal Reserve quickly deployed a half-dozen emergency lending programs over the past two weeks to ensure cash keeps coursing through the U.S. financial system. Now, Congress wants it to go much further, approving $454 billion to reload the Fed’s own ability to lend.

This pro-Trump coastal community in Florida, hit early by virus, sits at emotional nexus of national debate over reopening economy amid health crisis
Cleve R. Wootson Jr., The Washington Post

Hours after her father died, an angry and distraught Lori Hannaford typed out a 3 a.m. Facebook post aimed at anyone still walking around this laid-back city as if the world wasn’t reeling from a pandemic caused by a deadly virus with no vaccine and no cure. “I hope you never have to lose a spouse and be unable to touch them, be in their room, or say goodbye to them,” she wrote, a short time after changing her Facebook cover photo to a picture of her stepfather kissing her on her wedding day.

Fed’s Kaplan and Bostic See Chance for Solid Post-Crisis Rebound
Christopher Condon and Steve Matthews, Bloomberg

Two of the Federal Reserve’s regional bank presidents expressed some confidence the U.S. economy can rebound strongly after coronavirus restrictions on consumers and businesses are lifted. “This is a public health crisis” and therefore very different from the typical recession, Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, said Friday in an interview with Michael McKee on Bloomberg Television. 

Coronavirus Measures Could Cut Economic Activity by a Quarter, Report Says
Paul Hannon and Amara Omeokwe, The Wall Street Journal

Measures taken to curb the spread of the new coronavirus could lower economic activity in the U.S. and other developed countries by a quarter, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Friday. In a report made available to leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies for a video conference they held Thursday, OECD economists estimated the likely impact on the sectors most affected by widespread business closures and orders for people to remain at home, and the size of those sectors in each national economy.

Stocks Slip, U.S. Futures Fluctuate; Dollar Jumps: Markets Wrap
Todd White, Bloomberg 

Stocks slipped on Monday and U.S. equity futures fluctuated as investors weighed a weekend full of negative coronavirus news against the stimulus measures that triggered a bounce in risk assets last week. The dollar rebounded with Treasuries, while oil sank.

As Coronavirus Spreads, Community Banks Watch for Fallout
Orla McCaffrey, The Wall Street Journal

From his office off U.S. Highway 136, Mike Estes has a clear view of the main strip leading into Fisher, Ill., population 1,900. The president of Fisher National Bank knows the agricultural community well, including the handful of small businesses that dot the road.

Biggest U.S. Banks Flooded With Deposits in ‘Flight to Quality’
Hannah Levitt, Bloomberg

Deposits are pouring in at the largest U.S. lenders as consumers and corporate clients seek shelter from the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic. Deposits at domestically chartered commercial banks in 2020 rose 5.3% through March 18 — more than triple the increase from a year earlier, according to data released Friday by the Federal Reserve. 

Bank of America’s Race to Avoid Public Shaming Underscores the Perils of the Crisis
Lananh Nguyen and Hannah Levitt, Bloomberg

For 93 uncomfortable minutes, Bank of America Corp. rushed to escape infamy this week, before it was saved by the grace of James Corden, the affable talk show host known for crooning in cars with stars. The drama began when California Governor Gavin Newsom called out the bank for not offering 90-day grace periods to mortgage borrowers affected by the coronavirus, despite such pledges by rivals including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. A journalist tweeted the lashing, and then Corden reposted it to his 10.7 million followers. 

Bank of America capital levels allow operational focus during crisis: CEO
Imani Moise, Reuters

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) is better positioned to focus on operations rather than financial risk during the coronavirus outbreak, thanks to regulatory safeguards put in place after the financial crisis in 2008, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Friday. “What’s different this time is clearly our capital liquidity,” Moynihan said in a CNBC interview. 

Fed Lifeline Saves Bond Funds Teetering on Brink of ETF Hell
Katherine Greifeld, Bloomberg

The Federal Reserve’s unprecedented step into U.S. corporate bonds helped cure many of the massive dislocations in exchange-traded funds — and may have saved mutual funds from a similar fate. After prices for the biggest fixed-income funds held in a kind of dazed stillness during the worst of the sell-off — presumably because the bonds they owned simply weren’t trading — net-asset values on some of them dropped precipitously early last week as their outflows forced sales on a frozen market.

US legal battle looms over coronavirus insurance payouts
Robert Armstrong et al., Financial Times

Industry says claims excluded from its policies and pose an ‘existential threat.’

Big Hedge Funds Pivot in Market Turmoil
Gregory Zuckerman and Juliet Chung, The Wall Street Journal

Some of the largest hedge funds are generating relatively strong performances lately, a sign they have been able to avoid some of the market’s recent difficulties. The flagship hedge fund of billionaire Ken Griffin’s $30 billion firm, Citadel LLC, is up 4.5% so far this year and has gained less than 1% in March, according to investors. 

With Stocks Buybacks Halted, We’ll See How Much They Matter
Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek, Bloomberg Businessweek

Political sentiment in the U.S. has turned so viciously against share buybacks that they may never recover. Some worry stock returns will follow suit.

Mortgage Bankers Ask SEC to Save Them From Wave of Margin Calls
Joe Light and Benjamin Bain, Bloomberg

Mortgage bankers are sounding alarms that the Federal Reserve’s emergency purchases of bonds tied to home loans are unintentionally putting their industry at risk by triggering a flood of margin calls on hedges lenders have entered into to protect themselves from losses. In a Sunday letter, the Mortgage Bankers Association urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the nation’s main brokerage regulator to address the problem by telling securities firms not to escalate margin calls to “destabilizing levels.”

Ginnie Mae Plans Disaster Aid for Virus-Hit Mortgage Servicers
Joe Light, Bloomberg

A top U.S. regulator is working to provide a lifeline for mortgage servicers stressed by the coronavirus pandemic through programs meant to address natural disasters. To prepare for an expected wave of missed payments as borrowers deal with the economic fallout from the virus, Ginnie Mae is moving toward using relief programs normally implemented in the wake of hurricanes, floods and other calamities, according to a Friday blog post.

Mortgage industry seeks billions in federal help as homeowners stop paying their loans
Renae Merle, The Washington Post

Many of the country’s largest mortgage lenders are warning they will be soon pushed to the brink of failure with millions of Americans laid off due to the coronavirus outbreak likely to miss their next loan payment, threatening to disrupt the housing market in a way not seen since the Great Recession. If 25 percent of borrowers cannot make their mortgage payments because of job loss or other financial disruptions due to the coronavirus, mortgage industry officials say they could need nearly $40 billion in federal help over the next three months and $100 billion over nine months.

Trump wants Congress to restore full tax deduction for meals, entertainment
David Shepardson, Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress Sunday to restore the full tax deduction for meals and entertainment in response to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of a wide-ranging 2017 tax reform measure, Congress eliminated the corporate tax deduction for entertainment expenses, but taxpayers were allowed to continue to deduct 50% of the cost of client business meals.

Coronavirus Drives 72% Rise In Use Of Fintech Apps
Simon Chandler, Forbes

The coronavirus has driven a massive 72% rise in the use of fintech apps in Europe, according to new research published today by deVere Group. At a time when most sectors of the global economy are beginning to feel the effects of what may already be a worldwide recession, the sharp jump in app adoption and usage provides encouraging news for the fintech industry. 

Forced Arbitration Enables Employers to Evade New Coronavirus Paid Leave Law
Hugh Baran, Morning Consult

Earlier this month, Congress took an important first step to provide relief to workers by passing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which requires some employers to provide their workers with up to 10 days of emergency paid sick leave and, where necessary, up to 12 weeks of public health emergency leave for workers to manage childcare amid school and daycare closures. Unfortunately, this new law exempts employers with more than 500 workers from coverage — including most big box stores.

Enough With the Baby Steps on Coronavirus
Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, The New York Times

The coronavirus pandemic is laying bare structural deficiencies in America’s social programs. The relief package passed by Congress last week provides emergency fixes for some of these issues, but it also leaves critical problems untouched. 

What the G-20 Can Do About Coronavirus
Charles Ries, The Wall Street Journal

The Group of 20 met in an extraordinary virtual summit March 26 to discuss the challenge of Covid-19. Leaders pledged to take necessary health measures, expand medical-supplies manufacturing capacity, increase research and development funding for vaccines and medicines, and inject more than $5 trillion into the global economy.

Unpacking Skill Bias: Automation and New Tasks
Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo, The National Bureau of Economic Research

The standard approach to modeling inequality, building on Tinbergen’s seminal work, assumes factor-augmenting technologies and technological change biased in favor of skilled workers. Though this approach has been successful in conceptualizing and documenting the race between technology and education, it is restrictive in a number of crucial respects.