Articles by Howard Schneider

Gen Xers Pass Boomers in Wealth; Inequality on Basis of Race Persists

Crammed between the cultural extremes of the baby boomers and the millennials, members of Generation X saw their wealth jump during the Trump administration and through the coronavirus pandemic as they hit their prime earning years during a record bull …

Risks of Business Failures ‘Remain Considerable,’ Says Fed

The risks of ongoing business failures in the United States “remain considerable” even as the economy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve said on Friday in its semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress. Business borrowing “now stands near …

Fed Leader Says ‘Pernicious’ Effects of Redlining Against Blacks Still Persist

The “pernicious and persistent” impact of long-outlawed policies like “redlining” Blacks out of white neighborhoods continues to influence the ability of minority families to amass wealth, and requires a deeper look at how those longstanding problems might be addressed, Atlanta …

Why the Coronavirus Recession Is Not Like the Last Recession

Judith Ramirez received a letter this month that she’d been dreading: The Honolulu hotel that furloughed her from a housekeeping job in March, during the lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, made her layoff permanent. Ramirez, 40, was originally told …

Federal Reserve Policymakers See Slow Economic Growth Until Virus Contained

The U.S. economic recovery will be slow until the coronavirus is under control, and Americans will have to manage life with the virus for at least the next several months, three Federal Reserve policymakers said on Wednesday. After rebounding strongly …

Concern Over Small Businesses Grows as Coronavirus Resurges, Federal Aid Expires

The number of outright failures of U.S. small businesses in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic was comparatively modest, but the months ahead look far grimmer as cash balances dwindle, federal help expires, and the disease surges back. That …

Amid Unemployment Surge, Millions of Remote and Essential Workers Plug Away

Garbage haulers still collect trash. Cops are on the beat. Couriers deliver food and packages. Insurance agents work from home. The coronavirus crisis would appear to have put the entire U.S. economy on ice. Twenty-six million people have filed for …

Georgia Gambles on Reopening Business Amid Pandemic

A handful of mostly southern U.S. states will begin loosening economic restrictions this week in the midst of a still virulent pandemic, providing a live-fire test of whether America’s communities can start to reopen without triggering a surge that may …

Who Got Money in Small Business Paycheck Protection Program?

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO, April 17 (Reuters) – Over two frantic weeks, the U.S. government pledged $350 billion to Main Street businesses across America desperate for cash after coronavirus lockdowns. Now a picture is emerging of who got the money. More than …

Concerned Bankers, Investors Warn Federal Reserve About Leveraged Credit Market

Bankers, executives and investors are warning Federal Reserve officials behind closed doors that record leveraged lending to companies from lightly-regulated corners of Wall Street could make any economic downturn harder to manage. With the second-longest U.S. expansion in its advanced …