From This Collection

Unemployment benefits have expanded, but state systems aren't ready

Apr 7, 2020
Gig workers and self-employed now qualify, but accessing payments is still a challenge.
Unemployment benefits have been extended to self-employed people — like a barbershop owner in California — but the application is still confusing. Above, a closed barbershop in Boston.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

SF Fed president: "Each one of us in the economy has a role to play"

Apr 7, 2020
Mary Daly talks about the pandemic, the economy and what it might take to emerge from the crisis.
"Even if you're not a policymaker, you can pay for services that you would normally get" to help those who can't telework, says Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Fed.
Courtesy of the San Francisco Fed

For small businesses, promise of federal emergency loans turns into "waiting game"

Apr 7, 2020
Banks are starting to process applications for loans from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, but businesses aren’t sure when they’ll see the checks.
The small business loan part of the stimulus package is still causing uncertainty.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Pandemic could mean opportunity for real estate investors

Apr 7, 2020
“Now's the time to innovate and go hunting," says an investment firm co-founder.
Could the post-pandemic housing market look similar to the post-Great Recession market?
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Fed steps in to finance COVID-19 relief loans for small businesses

Apr 7, 2020
The Federal Reserve is creating a "lending facility" to keep things running smoothly for small business loans.
The central bank is finding new ways for it to finance the loans commercial banks are being told to write to small businesses.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Black-owned businesses face increased safety and economic risk from COVID-19

Apr 7, 2020
Health care businesses face medical risks, while retail and food service companies are seeing plunging sales.
Black people are almost 13% of the U.S. population, but only about 4% of business owners.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Commercial fishers struggle to find customers amid COVID-19 closures

Apr 7, 2020
Fishers scramble to find new markets as its traditional markets close.
Commercial fisherman David Haworth stands on a dock in San Diego's Tuna Harbor, March 18, 2020. Haworth is exploring ways to sell fish directly to consumers as his restaurant market has shut down in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
(Zoë Meyers/inewsource)

For public good, not for profit.

Some auto insurers offer discounts as COVID-19 curtails driving

Apr 7, 2020
The calculation is that fewer cars on the road result in fewer accidents, and savings on insurance payouts.
Driving is down 35% to 50% across the country, meaning fewer crashes, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson says.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

China's livestream sales: How brands reach consumers during COVID-19

Apr 6, 2020
Consumer spending plummeted while people stayed home. But Taobao saw livestream sales sessions double on its app.
Songzi during a marathon six-hour livestream broadcast selling cosmetics.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Too much virtual connection can be a bad thing

Apr 6, 2020
With millions working from home, video chats are on the rise. They can be exhausting.
A substitute teacher in Bethesda, Maryland, works from home on April 1, 2020.