Stocks rebound from big losses on hope for US economic aid
Stocks on Tuesday recouped most of their historic losses from the prior day as hopes rose, faded and then bloomed again on Wall Street that the U.S. government will try to cushion the economic pain from the coronavirus.
The S&P 500 surged as much as 3.7% in the morning, only to see the gains evaporate by midday. The index then bounced up and down before turning decisively higher after President Donald Trump pitched his ideas for a break on payroll taxes and other economic relief to Senate Republicans.
By the end of the day, the S&P 500 rose 135.67 points, or 4.9%, to 2,882.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,167.14 points, or 4.9%, to 25,018.16, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 393.58, or 5%, to 8,344.25.
The recovery is pulling the stock market a bit further from the edge of a bear market, signified by a drop of 20% from a record. The S&P 500 is down 14.9% from its high. If it can rally back to that point, it would extend the longest-ever bull market, which began its climb after the market hit bottom on March 9, 2009.
US says Fifth Third opened fake accounts like Wells Fargo
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank, alleging the bank’s employees opened fake accounts for customers in order to meet aggressive sales targets.
The federal regulator alleged Monday that the bank knew its employees were opening fake accounts since at least 2008 and up until 2016, the same year that Wells Fargo admitted its own employees had opened fake accounts to meet aggressive sales goals. Wells Fargo was forced to pay billions of dollars in fines and penalties.
The CFPB alleges that some of the fake Fifth Third accounts were actually funded, meaning bank employees moved money from a customer’s existing account to his or her new one, without the person’s consent. Fifth Third’s sales program required the accounts to be funded, so once the employee was credited for the sale, the money was moved back.
Moving money without a customer’s consent is a violation of the Truth in Savings Act.
China food prices spike as anti-virus effort disrupts supply
China’s food prices jumped 21.4% over a year earlier in February as antivirus efforts disrupted supplies, adding to pressure on communist leaders who are trying to revive economic activity.
Overall consumer prices rose 5.2% over a year ago, down from January’s eight-year high of 5.4% but well above the ruling Communist Party’s traditional annual target, government data showed Tuesday.
The government has yet to announce this year’s inflation target, but in previous years it has tried to keep consumer price increases below 3%.