Month: April 2020

Federal Reserve maintained its current fed funds target range of 0% to 0.25% on Wednesday, as the U.S. economy continues to struggle to manage the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.” data-reactid=”19″ type=”text”>The U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its current fed funds target range of 0% to 0.25% on Wednesday, as the U.S. economy continues to struggle amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The Fed said in a statement: “The Committee expects to maintain this target range until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals.” All 10 Fed members voted unanimously to maintain current rates.

The Federal Reserve issued two emergency interest rate cuts totaling 1.5% in March in response to the outbreak and has provided access to more than $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy. As recently as December, the Federal Reserve said it anticipated no adjustments to interest rates in 2020. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds declined slightly on Tuesday to 0.606%, down 0.002% on the day.

Fed signals it will likely hold rates near zero for months

Via abcnews.go.com

The Federal Reserve says it will keep its key short-term interest rate near zero for the…

04/29/2020 6:06 PM

 

Oxford University scientists who have already begun testing a potential coronavirus vaccine in humans say they believe that it might be available as early as September. The vaccine, which is being developed by the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group, began clinical trials last week.

Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, said “Personally I have a high degree of confidence about this vaccine because it’s technology that I’ve used before.”  Work on a potential vaccine began in January, and success has previously been seen in using a similar vaccine on a previous coronavirus strand. The vaccine has also reportedly seen success in monkeys, signaling the promising potential for humans.

The vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus, or adenovirus, from chimpanzees and has been “genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans,” according to a statement from the University Hospital Southampton, which is also helping to conduct the trial. There currently are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for COVID-19, which as of Wednesday had sickened more than 3.1 million people worldwide, and resulted in over 217,000 deaths.

Oxford scientists say they may have a vaccine ready by September

Via www.cbsnews.com

04/28/2020 6:45 PM

 

House leaders announced on Tuesday that a plan to return to normal legislative business next week will be delayed, despite the Senate planning to resume work on May 4.

“We will not be meeting next week,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters, citing rising Coronavirus case numbers in the Washington, D.C. metro area. “The numbers in the District of Columbia are still going up, so there’s not a flattening of the curve. We made a judgment that we will not come back next week, but that we hope to come back very soon.” Hoyer added.

In the meantime, talks will continue between the two parties on possible changes to House rules to make it easier to conduct business during the pandemic. The decision by House Democrats means there will be a split in the Capitol, as the House will continue to hold off on legislative work, while the Senate is slated to return on Monday, May 4th.

House scraps plans to return to the Capitol while Senate forges ahead

Via www.cbsnews.com

“The House physician’s view was the risk to members was not one he would recommend taking.” The…

04/28/2020 12:15 PM

 

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Presidential nominee Joe Biden won the endorsement on Tuesday of Hillary Clinton.  The endorsement, at an online town hall on the effects of the coronavirus crisis on women, came as Biden aims to raise his profile with female voters and other key demographic groups. Biden has vowed to pick a woman as his running mate this year; he introduced Clinton at the town hall as the person who should be now be president. Clinton told the former vice president: “I am thrilled to be part of your campaign to not only endorse you but to help highlight a lot of the issues that are at stake in this presidential election.”

Clinton – who was formerly the Secretary of State, as well as a U.S. senator from New York, and of course, First Lady – was defeated in the 2016 presidential election by Republican Donald Trump, despite winning the popular vote. She also lost the 2008 Democratic presidential race to Barack Obama, whom Biden served as vice president.

Clinton was Obama’s first secretary of state. Biden decided against mounting a campaign against her in 2016 as he grieved the death of his son Beau. Obama, the first black U.S. president, endorsed Biden’s campaign two weeks ago after Sanders’ withdrawal from the contest.

LIVE: Hillary Clinton endorses Joe Biden for president in virtual town hall: ABC News Live

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24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

04/28/2020 3:13 PM

 

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On his first day back at work in three weeks after a bout of COVID-19 that left him hospitalized, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged his nation to be patient and argued that easing social and economic restrictions too soon would create a second deadly spike of coronavirus infections. 

Speaking outside his 10 Downing St. office on Monday, Johnson said the country was reaching “the end of the first phase of this conflict” but warned that a quick end to a lockdown due to last at least until May 7 was not in sight. “I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the (health system),” said Johnson.  The 55-year-old Johnson appeared thinner but healthier than when he was last seen in public earlier this month, after spending a week in St. Thomas’ Hospital in London earlier this month, including three nights in intensive care. 

As of Sunday, Britain had recorded 20,732 deaths among people hospitalized with COVID-19, the fifth country in the world to surpass 20,000 deaths. Despite the death toll, Johnson’s government is under mounting pressure to set out a blueprint for easing the lockdown that has sharply curtailed business and daily life since March 23.When he was discharged on April 13, he thanked medical workers at the hospital for saving his life, saying his condition “could have gone either way.”

UK PM Johnson back to work after coronavirus hospitalization

Via abcnews.go.com

Earlier this month, the UK PM Boris Johnson spent three nights in intensive care with…

04/27/2020 4:07 PM

 

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Police took into custody the man who dialed 911 to report five people had been shot to death inside a Milwaukee home on Monday. Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said during a brief news conference that when officers arrived at the house on the city’s north side they found five victims ranging in age from 14 to 41.

Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at the house that a baby was found alive in the house. Investigators believe the shooter decided to spare the infant. Morales said investigators recovered a weapon and believe the shooter acted alone, adding that that there’s no threat to the public. The man who called authorities to the house has been taken into custody, and detectives were trying to determine the relationship between the caller and the victims, Morales said. No names have been provided.

The attack is the second mass shooting in Milwaukee this year. Molson Coors brewery worker Anthony Ferrill gunned down five co-workers on Feb. 26 before turning his gun on himself. His motive remains unknown.

Milwaukee shooting kills 5 inside home; suspect in custody, police say

Via feeds.foxnews.com

A suspect is in custody following a shooting that left five people dead inside a home in…

04/27/2020 4:19 PM

 

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