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
Production, new orders, hiring and export orders all fell
The March decline is the second-biggest decline on record
In March, sales were down more than 15%
Services continued to be the main driver of price gains
The economy was in strong shape before fears of the the coronavirus escalated