London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2026

Fed's Neel Kashkari says coronavirus economic recovery 'could be a long, hard road'

Fed's Neel Kashkari says coronavirus economic recovery 'could be a long, hard road'

“Barring some health-care miracle like that, it seems we’re going to have various phases of rolling flare ups,” Kashkari said, with “different parts of the economy turning back on, maybe turning back off again.”. Kashkari's comments came days after the Labor Department reported that another 6.6 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims in the past week.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Sunday he expects the path to economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be a “long, hard road,” pouring cold water on hopes for a “V-shaped” rebound.

Kashkari, who oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program that the U.S. implemented in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, said on CBS’ “Face The Nation” that expectations for a sharp, speedy recovery seem too optimistic.

“It would be wonderful if some new therapy were developed in the next couple months,” Kashkari said. “Then potentially we would have a V-shaped recovery” – a phrase describing a steep market decline followed by a galloping rally.

But “barring some health-care miracle like that, it seems we’re going to have various phases of rolling flare ups,” Kashkari said, with “different parts of the economy turning back on, maybe turning back off again.”

“This could be a long, hard road that we have ahead of us until we get to either an effective therapy or a vaccine. It’s hard to see a V-shaped recovery under that scenario,” Kashkari said.

Kashkari’s gloomy outlook came days after the Labor Department reported that another 6.6 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims in the past week. That massive spike brought the total number of jobless claims to 16 million over just three weeks, a staggering figure equivalent to about 10% of the U.S. workforce.

Other business leaders echoed Kashkari’s comments. Entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Fox News on Sunday that he thinks recovery will come “slower” than the V-shaped model investors are hoping for.

“People are not going to feel confident right off the bat. There’s going to be a lot of trepidation. That concern is going to lead to people holding back in spending money,” Cuban said.

Another Fed president, St. Louis’ James Bullard, last Sunday offered a more positive take on the economic havoc brought by the coronavirus, saying he did not believe the U.S. economy or jobs market was in “free fall,” as some have described.

“The uptake on the unemployment insurance program is a good thing because it means you’re getting the transfers to the people that are being disrupted by this health-ordered shutdown,” Bullard said.

Kashkari also said that the $350 billion emergency funds for small businesses will not be enough to cover everyone’s needs. But he said he is “optimistic” that Congress will grant more money in the future to help keep small businesses from folding under the strain of strict social distancing measures being imposed by states to contain the spread of the virus.

“But then again, we don’t know if this support is going to be long enough,” Kashkari added, “because if we need to have different phases of shutdowns for the next several months or until we have a therapy or vaccine, we’re going to need more help than that.”

The Fed, meanwhile, is being “aggressive” in its efforts to blunt the impact of the disease, Kashkari said. The central bank announced a slew of new programs Thursday aimed at lending out as much as $2.3 trillion to businesses and governments.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
UK Marks Ten Years of Night Tube as London Weekend Usage Exceeds Eighty-One Thousand Journeys a Night
Met Office Issues Thunderstorm Warnings Across Northern Ireland Over Flash-Flood Risk
Frasers Group Raises Stake in Hugo Boss to Nearly Forty-Eight Percent
Scottish Clyde Marine Pilots Prepare for Strike That Could Disrupt Glasgow and Greenock Shipping
Twenty Passengers Injured After Southern Train Derails Near Lewes in East Sussex
Government Rules Out High-Speed Rail Revival Between West Midlands and Northern England
West Midlands Bus Network Returns to Public Ownership in Twenty-Four Million Pound Deal
UK Competition Watchdog Targets Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Drip Pricing
Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt Resigns After Dispute Over Causeway Hospital Surgery Closure
UK Long-Term Government Bond Yields Rise to Five Point Eight Five Percent as Borrowing Costs Surge
UK Government Overhauls Planning Rules to Push Housing Development Near Major Transport Hubs
UK Health and Economic Pressures Highlight Wider Strain on Households and Public Finances
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Reaffirms Full Support for Ukraine Amid Russian Warnings
Sainsbury’s Suspends Live Facial Recognition at London Store After Customer Misidentified
Artists Urge UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Reject New North Sea Oil and Gas Licensing
UK Government Awards Four Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pound Civil Service Training Contract to EY and KPMG
Global Government Bond Yields Rise as Middle East Conflict Fuels Inflation Concerns
British Housing Market Records Weakest August Since Two Thousand and Eighteen as Asking Prices Fall
UK Announces New Sanctions on Russian Shadow Fleet and Financial Institutions
UK Approves Virgin Rail Group Services Through Channel Tunnel, Challenging Eurostar
UK Government Backs Three Hundred Million Pound AI Investment Zone in North Lanarkshire
UK Declares National Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Imported Eggs
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
UK Government Rolls Out £5.8 Billion Regional Investment Programme to Revive High Streets
AstraZeneca Ends Late-Stage Lung Cancer Trial After Data Shows No Survival Benefit
London Stocks Fall for Sixth Day as Bond Yields and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Markets
UK Government Rewrites Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Near Transport Hubs
UK Wildfires Spread Across Southern England as Met Office Issues Severe Heat Warnings
British Doctors Warn Cancer Care Is at Risk as Hospitals Reject More Than a Quarter of Urgent Referrals
UK Hospitals Suspend Critical Care as Extreme Heat Exposes Infrastructure Failures
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
×