Retail gains in recent months may be short-lived
However, the central bank has slowed its purchases in recent weeks
The change will allow banks to make investments in various areas of venture capital
The 5% drop was the sharpest quarterly decline since Q4 of 2008
In its semi-annual monetary policy report, the central bank pointed to "tremendous" hardship
Some economists say it could take two years or more
The job gain stores and companies may be starting to rehire
Fed Chair Jerome Powell discussed new Main Street Lending program on Friday
Economists expect that the effects of the pandemic will take a while to overcome
The outcome may be worse for the April-June quarter, economists predict