What Are Workers to Do?

Like many people with desk jobs in New York, I’m taking recommended “social distancing” measures and working from home. But what about the many at-risk people who can’t? Walmart, Uber, Lyft and other major companies with large numbers of hourly-wage or gig workers have rolled out new policies for paid leave or other financial assistance to those who contract the coronavirus or are subject to mandatory quarantines. It’s a move toward helping low-wage workers in the service industry who don’t normally get paid sick leave (and who can’t afford to take unpaid time off). But many Americans remain financially vulnerable to illness of any kind, including most delivery people, store clerks, restaurant workers, taxi drivers and others whose jobs cannot be done remotely.

Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

What’s Next? (March 15-21)

Relief From Washington

Mr. Trump declared a national emergency on Friday and said he would release $50 billion in federal aid, some of which is to go toward expanding coronavirus testing in the coming weeks with the help of Google, CVS, Walmart, Target, Walgreens and other private companies. (The stock market rallied in response to some definitive news, for a change.) House Democrats also struck a deal with the White House on a sweeping relief bill later that night. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the package included paid sick leave guarantees and additional food aid and federal funds for Medicaid. The Senate is expected to act on the legislation next week.

Approaching Zero

The Fed is expected to lower interest rates again this week, hot on the heels of its emergency rate cut earlier this month. It’s yet another step in the scramble to reassure investors, consumers and workers, who are uneasy about how the pandemic will affect them and how much worse it will get. But interest rates are already so low that the Fed is running out of wiggle room to act further if (or when) it needs to — and that’s already making the financial industry more nervous, not less.

And Finally, Something Non-Virus-Related

The Democratic presidential candidate could effectively be decided this week when Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio hold their primary elections. If Joseph R. Biden Jr. keeps up his winning streak, then he’ll have a clear path to the general election. That would be a small comfort to Wall Street during these tumultuous times, since Mr. Biden’s views on business regulation are considerably more moderate than those of his remaining rival, Bernie Sanders, who has vowed to crack down on lending and other banking activities.