CNBC Economy

The $350 billion loan program aims to help small businesses cover payroll and benefits during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Treasury secretary told CNBC he is holding discussions with Congress about a potential infrastructure bill.

U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in March as the coronavirus outbreak continues to pressure the economy, data released Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management showed.

The March ADP count covers the period before the social distancing measures that have shut down large parts of the economy.

A measure of U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply in March as people grapple with the global coronavirus outbreak.

The gains came before the coronavirus shut down much of the economy and the housing market. Now there are forecasts that home values will weaken significantly.

Millions of Americans already have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and the worst of the damage is yet to come, according to the Federal Reserve.

Homebuyer demand was strengthening markedly just before COVID-19 began its spread across the U.S. Pending home sales, which measure signed contracts on existing homes, rose 2.4% in February compared with January. Sales were up a steep 9.4% annually, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is the highest pace in exactly three years.

The $2 trillion federal stimulus package known as the CARES Act, signed into law by President Trump on Friday, takes unprecedented steps to provide a social safety net for the self-employed.

Vice President Mike Pence said that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong despite the coronavirus pandemic that has tanked markets and led to unprecedented layoffs of millions.

Though its efforts to keep markets running and boost the economy are just getting into gear, the Federal Reserve's asset portfolio has reached levels never seen before.

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Friday that the global economy is now in a recession thanks to COVID-19.

U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a three-year low as the coronavirus outbreak takes a toll on the economy, according to data from the University of Michigan.

U.S. consumer spending rose moderately in February and momentum is set to fade rapidly in the coming months, with the coronavirus pandemic upending life for Americans.

"We did in two weeks what it took the Fed eight months to do in 2009," hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones told CNBC.

The number shatters the Great Recession peak of 665,000 in March 2009 and the all-time mark of 695,000 in October 1982.

The economy grew by a moderate 2.1% in the fourth quarter of last year, but many economists believe that will be the last positive growth seen for some time as the country endures a sharp contraction due to the impact of the coronavirus.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is trying to reassure Americans about this unprecedented financial crisis ignited by the coronavirus pandemic.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will pass the legislation later Wednesday. The full text of the bill has not yet been released.

"The things that Democrats stood firm for, expanding unemployment, helping states and counties, investing in hospitals, transparency on the big fund" are now all included, the Delaware Democrat said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."