Federal Government Policy and Business

U.S. still faces possible default wave, asset declines due to pandemic: Fed

Reuters: The United States may still face a wave of debt defaults and “significant declines” in asset prices because of the coronavirus pandemic and recession, the Federal Reserve warned on Monday, in a stark reminder the economy is far from out of the woods.

“As many households continue to struggle, loan defaults may rise, leading to material losses” for lenders, the Fed said in its latest biannual Financial Stability Report. Business debt “has risen sharply as businesses increased borrowing to weather the period of weak earnings. The general decline in revenues associated with the severe reduction in economic activity has weakened the ability of businesses to services these obligations.”

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