Happy Monday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL—Surging coronavirus cases raise fears of new lockdowns: Sharp increases in the number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in states across the nation have some local elected officials considering pauses in reopening their economies.
- The rising number of cases are hitting hardest in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. All four of those states reported their highest single-day increase in the number of confirmed cases over the weekend.
- In all, 20 states confirmed more coronavirus cases in the last week than in the week prior. Ten states have recorded their highest-ever single-day counts in just the last week, according to an analysis by The Hill.
- Officials have also pointed to a troubling trend in the number of people who must be hospitalized for treatment, raising anew the frightening prospect of an overwhelmed health system.
“If the trends we’re seeing right now get worse or continue to rise we are at a very high risk of getting to the point where the threat to our hospital system is severe and we have to backtrack,” Lina Hidalgo, the county judge in Harris County, Texas, told reporters on Thursday.
The Hill’s Reid Wilson and Peter Sullivan explain here.
On tap tomorrow
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee during a virtual hearing on the bank’s semi-annual monetary policy report at 10 a.m.
- A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a virtual hearing on financial fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic at 12 p.m.
LEADING THE DAY
Mnuchin says he’ll have bipartisan discussions on oversight of PPP loans: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said that he will have discussions with lawmakers on a bipartisan basis about oversight of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) after Democrats blasted him for suggesting the names of loan recipients would not be released.
“I will be having discussions with the Senate @SmallBizCmte and others on a bipartisan basis to strike the appropriate balance for proper oversight of #ppploans and appropriate protection of small business information,” Mnuchin said on Twitter.
- The PPP was created by the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package, known as the CARES Act, that President Trump signed on March 27 and is a key part of policymakers’ efforts to help businesses and workers during the pandemic.
- Under the program, small businesses can receive loans that will be forgiven if they maintain their payroll.
During a Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing last week, Mnuchin said that the administration thinks that the names and dollar amounts of specific PPP loans is “proprietary information.”
Those comments angered Democrats, who argued that it’s important for the PPP to be transparent in order to ensure that the program is not being abused.
The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda has more here.
Fed launches emergency business lending program: The Federal Reserve on Monday opened its direct lending program for businesses derailed by the coronavirus pandemic that are too large to qualify for other federal relief programs.
The Fed launched registration for its Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) on Monday through the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, allowing banks and other lenders to sign up and begin disbursing a crucial tool in the central bank’s emergency lending efforts.
- The MSLP is designed to prop up businesses that were strong and stable before the pandemic shut down wide swaths of the U.S. economy by providing emergency loans issued through banks that are held by the Fed.
- Under the MSLP, a business with up to 15,000 employees or 2019 revenue no greater than $5 billion can apply for a loan to be repaid in five years. The loans will be originated through banks, but the Fed will purchase 95 percent of the total loan amount to drastically reduce the risks for and constraints on lenders.
The Main Street program will likely be one of the most heavily scrutinized Fed lending efforts given its size, scope and importance to the recovery of the U.S. economy. I explain here.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Stocks rebounded from a sharp opening dip Monday to finish with slight gains as the market set aside concerns driven by surging coronavirus cases in several states.
- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said Sunday that systemic racism is a major restraint on the U.S. economy meeting its full potential, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout continues to disproportionately affect African Americans.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will be available to testify in a House antitrust investigation into major tech companies, according to a letter from a lawyer representing the company obtained by The Hill on Monday.
- The National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN), which aims to fight environmental inequality and racism, is relaunching amid the disproportionate impact that the coronavirus has had on African Americans.
- Oil giant BP is writing down as much as $17.5 billion in assets, the company said Monday, as the oil industry struggles to stabilize during the coronavirus pandemic.