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
Sales over the past 12 months are down a crippling 21.6%
Even before the pandemic erupted, oil prices had been sinking
The issuance is part of nearly US$3T in borrowing this quarter