India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, recently ordered the country's 1.3 billion residents to stay at home for the next three weeks. While many Americans have been working from home for a few weeks and some have experienced minimal or limited productivity changes, it’s a different story in India, and this is having implications far beyond India’s ... READ MORE >
Covid-19
RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas unpacks unemployment amid pandemic
Joe Brusuelas, RSM US chief economist, discusses the effect of the coronavirus on the labor market and the economy: https://youtu.be/rgvCtk_kF9g ... READ MORE >
Pricing in the end of the current British business cycle
The coronavirus has caused economies across to globe to adopt self-distancing as the de-facto public health policy to mitigate the spread of the disease. Nothing highlights the dangers of the virus and its spread more than the announcement that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had tested positive for the disease. But the policy of self-distancing ... READ MORE >
Between a rock and a hard place, retailers ask to stop paying rent to survive
In a move for self-preservation, retailers are demanding that their landlords withhold or slash rent in the coming months as stores have closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Even before the onset of the virus, retail was already experiencing bankruptcies and store closures as consumers migrated to the web. Now, with social distancing and ... READ MORE >
For states struggling with coronavirus, stimulus package is likely not enough
The increase in out-of-work Americans became a tsunami of household distress as municipalities and states took action to stop the spread of the coronavirus. All states – with the exception of Utah – reported significant numbers of workers filing for unemployment benefits as state and local authorities and businesses took the lead in slowing the virus by ... READ MORE >
New jobless claims surge, signaling hardship for working America
Initial claims for unemployment insurance soared in the past week, as the spread of the coronavirus multiplies and the first tranche of service-sector layoffs floods state unemployment offices. This week’s initial claims increased to 3.283 million from last week’s 282,000, suggesting a substantial drop in income and household spending in the coming weeks and ... READ MORE >
How health systems can manage the financial impact of the coronavirus
The effects of the coronavirus on health systems will be far-reaching and long-lasting. Beyond the impact on front-line staff and the disruption of having many employees work remotely, health systems are also seeing a cloud loom when it comes to their finances. To seek relief from these headwinds, the chief executives of the American Hospital Association, ... READ MORE >
Why shutting down the economy makes the most sense
Just when social distancing gained broad adoption to stem the spread of the coronavirus, some are now urging that the American economy be restarted even before the virus has yet to be fully mitigated. This stands in contrast with stronger measures taken in Europe and England, which on Tuesday announced that its entire population should shelter in place ... READ MORE >
Expect initial jobless claims to surge this week as coronavirus spreads
As municipalities and states take action to stop the spread of the coronavirus -- and as businesses begin to shed labor – we expect the number of claims for unemployment benefits to mount. Because of the scope and scale of the human tragedy before us, we are not going to make a point forecast on the claims data this week. But it’s safe to say that, based ... READ MORE >
As businesses contend with coronavirus, liquidity becomes a top concern
The outbreak of the coronavirus provided the exogenous shock to send the longest economic expansion in American history to an end. The robust steps taken recently by the Federal Reserve to shore up the front end of the money markets are essential to the free flow of capital and global economic stability, and in our view will help stabilize U.S. credit ... READ MORE >