Yellen will urge Congress to do more to fight pandemic recession
WASHINGTON — Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to do more to fight a deep pandemic-induced recession, saying the threats of a longer and even worse downturn are too great to cut back on support now.
“Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now — and long-term scarring of the economy later,” Yellen said in testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee.
Yellen, who will be the first female treasury secretary in the nation’s history, is expected to have little trouble winning approval in a Senate that will be narrowly controlled by Democrats once two Democratic senators from Georgia are seated.
In her testimony, Yellen, who was also the country’s first female chair of the Federal Reserve, said that the quick action Congress took by passing trillion-dollar rescue packages last spring and an additional $900 billion relief measure last month were successful in “averting a lot of suffering.”
But she said that even with the extraordinary government help, the pandemic has still caused “widespread devastation.”
Canada gives OK to 737 Max
MONTREAL — The Boeing 737 Max can return to Canadian airspace beginning Wednesday, officials said, concluding nearly two years of government review after the aircraft was involved in two deadly crashes that saw the planes grounded worldwide.
Transport Canada said Monday the planes will be permitted to fly as long as they meet conditions specified by Transport Canada in December, including allowing pilots to disable a faulty warning system that was found to be central to two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The measures go beyond those announced by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in November, which required Boeing to make changes to the computer systems inside the plane and required pilots to undergo training in flight simulators.
Davos plans virtual event
GENEVA — World Economic Forum organizers are expecting leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a virtual gathering next week — after the COVID-19 pandemic doused plans for the annual in-person event in Davos, Switzerland. The forum expects to hold its annual meeting in person in May in Singapore.
Markets closed for holiday
U.S. stock markets were closed Monday in observance of the King holiday. For the year, the S&P 500 is up 12.18 points, or 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 207.78 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite is up 110.22 points, or 0.9%.