3:25 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
This is the worst economy in history, Fed says
From CNN Business' David Goldman
How bad is the coronavirus economy? The worst ever, says Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
"We are going to see economic data for the second quarter that is worse than any data we have seen for the economy," Powell said. "There are direct consequences of the disease and measures we are taking to protect ourselves from it."
The recovery will be long and painful, but the economy could begin to bounce back significantly in the third quarter as businesses reopen, he added. While we won't go back to pre-coronavirus levels for quite some time, the third quarter could provide some economic relief.
"We will enter the new phase -- and we are just beginning to maybe do that -- where we will begin formal measures that require social distancing will be rolled back, gradually, and at different paces in different parts of the country. And in time, during this period, the economy will begin to recover," Powell said.
"People will come out of their homes, start to spend again, we will see unemployment go down, we will see economic activity pick up," he added. Exactly then that happens is "very hard to say," although he reiterated the third quarter could get a "fairly large increase" in economic activity.