Washington

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said U.S. unemployment could rise as high as 15% as the U.S. forcibly shuts down important parts of its economy to help contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Early official estimates of current fiscal year revenue drops include $353 million in Arkansas, $396 million in Colorado, $219 in Oklahoma and $224 million in Vermont.

Most of the disclosures tracked since the beginning of the year were filed in March, the MSRB said.

Coronavirus-led fears are leading investors, particularly retail, to cash once again amid uncertainty surrounding how much and what maturities of municipal bonds the Fed will purchase once its program begins.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said the roll-out of a new lending program for small-and-medium-sized U.S. companies may still be “another couple” of weeks away.

The package calls for reinstating advance refunding, Build America Bonds and tax credit bonds.

In a letter, three issuer groups made specific recommendations to the Federal Reserve and Treasury.

The primary market remained mostly on the sidelines with issuers slow to jump back into coronavirus-driven volatility while also awaiting Fed engagement.

The CARES Act gives the Federal Reserve and Treasury up to 10 days to begin purchasing municipal securities in the secondary market.

So far there have been over 200 COVID-19-related disclosures, according to Diver by Lumesis, a financial technology company.