Donald Trump has dramatically stepped up the US government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak by announcing plans to send cheques directly to American citizens to give them emergency financial aid, while agreeing to purchase up to $1tn (£830bn) of corporate bonds.
The White House said it was preparing to send the payments to Americans within two weeks as part of a vast stimulus package to shore-up confidence in the world’s largest economy as the efforts to contain the disease threaten a global recession.
At a special briefing in Washington, the the US Treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said: “This is stuff that needs to be done now. The president has instructed me, this is no fault to American workers, for medical reasons we’re shutting down.” » | Richard Partington, Economics correspondent | Tuesday, March 17, 2020
