President Donald Trump's chief economic advisor said Tuesday he sees no downturn looming for the US economy, even as the coronavirus epidemic hits the Chinese economy and Germany and Japan flirt with recession.

In an interview broadcast on CNBC, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow replied "yes, we can," when asked if the United States could continue growing should a recession hit the rest of the world.

He also downplayed the economic impact of the coronavirus, saying, "I don't think it's going to be an economic tragedy at all."

"The numbers are saying the US (is) holding up nicely," Kudlow said, adding "China is going to take an awfully big hit."

He pointed to indicators from regional central banks and new US consumer confidence figures released Tuesday that show continued economic health and no disruption in supplies even as production from some Chinese factories is halted over the virus.

He estimated it will take another two to three weeks for the situation to become clear and welcomed the call by US health authorities for local governments, business and schools to be prepared for an increase in cases of COVID-19.

He also downplayed speculation that the Federal Reserve would make an emergency rate cut to support the economy.

"I'm not hearing that either publically or privately. We're in touch with the Fed people all the time," he said. "I'm not hearing the Fed is going to make any panic move."

Speaking at a conference in Washington on Tuesday, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said that "if developments emerge that, in the future, trigger a material reassessment of our outlook, we will respond accordingly."

"It is still too soon to even speculate about either the size or the persistence" of the virus's effects on the global economy, "or whether they will lead to a material change in the outlook," he said.

Wall Street closed sharply down for the second day in a row, but Kudlow earlier in the day said he saw no cause for alarm, instead calling on investors to take advantage of low prices, echoing comments by Trump the day before.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

UK digital bank serves clients shunned by big lenders
London (AFP) Feb 23, 2020
Among Britain's digital app-based banks that are attracting moneyed urban millennials is Monese, which also courts customers neglected by the country's established lenders. In early 2000, Estonia-born entrepreneur Norris Koppel arrived in Britain and spotted a major gap in UK banking for newly-arrived foreigners who had trouble opening traditional accounts. Koppel was snubbed by banks owing to a lack of address documents and no credit history - and vowed to help those in a similar predicament. ... read more