1) In an emergency move the Federal Reserve has cut the interest rates by half a percent, in a effort to stem slower economic growth as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This action was two weeks before the Fed’s scheduled meeting where business was expecting a reduction of the rate anyway, but because of the volatile stock market, it was decided to move more quickly. The announcement sent the markets into wild gyrations over fears the state of the economy is worst than feared.
2) Walmart, the retailing giant, is experimenting with a new health center. People can receive routine checkups and ongoing treatment of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease at discount prices, with or without insurance. Services include lab work, x-rays, dental care, behavioral health counseling and eye and hearing exams. A checkup for an adult is $30, eye exam is $45 and dental exams for $25. Healthcare is 15% of the economy, and if the two test facilities prove successful, then Walmart is expected to expand the service to other stores. This service would also bring increased foot traffic to boost in-store sales.
3) The trading smartphone app Robinhood is experiencing a system wide outage on both its website and its app. Users are reporting issues on the platform, logging in and even trading. Equities, cryptocurrency and options trading are among some of the functionalities experiencing a major outage. Some users are demanding compensation for their losses during down times.
4) Stock market closings for – 3 MAR 20:
Dow 25,917.41 down 785.91
Nasdaq 8,684.09 down 268.08
S&P 500 3,003.37 down 86.86
10 Year Yield: down at 1.01%
Oil: down at $47.10