Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida expressed confidence earlier this month that the US could avoid an outbreak of deflation. Can we avoid such an outcome as rising anecdotal evidence of wage cuts reveals the magnitude of the negative demand shock that has slammed through the US economy? It was common early in the crisis to view the viral outbreak ...

Europe’s banks have often complained about too much regulation hampering their ability to lend. The Covid-19 epidemic shows that when times are bad the real constraint lies elsewhere: in the financial markets. The European Central Bank (ECB) has gone to great lengths during the coronavirus crisis to ensure that lenders can keep pumping credit into the economy. It immediately provided ...

As the coronavirus crisis rinds on, many companies and university research labs are trying to develop vaccines. Let’s hope one of them achieves a breakthrough — the sooner the better. But as my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Max Nisen pointed out recently, the challenge doesn’t stop there. Once a vaccine is found, you have to manufacture it and deliver it to ...