Washington

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke with his Chinese counterpart on the eve of an emergency Fed interest rate cut March 3.

The MSRB is looking to cut back on repetition in its broker-dealer suitability rules, which is a welcome change for the dealer community as Reg BI goes into effect in less than two months.

The U.S. economy will likely need more fiscal stimulus as it weathers a “severe” contraction from the effects of coronavirus-prompted shut downs, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there could be three tranches of federal aid directed to state, county and municipal governments

A range of technical issues — from month-end accounting and financing to spread widening, price volatility and the coronavirus impact on businesses and the economy — spurred a tone of relative quiet in Thursday's trade.

Thursday’s jobless claims at 3.839 million, weaker income and spending data show COVID-19 continues to dampen economic activity.

Broker-dealers oppose a proposed change to MSRB's governance rule that would reserve two seats for municipal advisors.

The mass transit authority cannot tap the Municipal Liquidity Facility directly, chief financial officer Robert Foran said.

The FOMC action came as GDP dropped 4.8% in the first quarter and pending home sales plunged 20.8% amid the pandemic.

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said he's working closely with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to include major infrastructure provisions in what members of Congress are calling CARES Act 2.