Queensland researchers announce promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-researchers-announce-promising-covid-19-vaccine-candidates-20200327-p54epc.html Researchers at Griffith University in Brisbane have joined the race to create a vaccine for the coronavirus using a method that could see a vaccine rolled out in weeks once it’s approved. Scientists at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD) are about to start mouse model trials of four vaccine candidates they have developed. Professor Bernd Rehm, the principal research leader at GRIDD, said the technology used to develop the vaccine candidates used a synthetic version of the virus, which meant it could be replicated easily and quickly. Professor Bernd Rehm from Griffith University says they have developed four vaccine candidates ready for animal testing Professor Bernd Rehm from Griffith University says they have developed four vaccine candidates ready for animal testing "We essentially have these microscopic factories assembling these virus-like particles presenting the virus components," Professor Rehm said. Advertisement "It’s all synthetic, there’s no live virus included, it’s considered to be very safe, but the interesting part is we can precision-engineer those particles, and link it to a very high-yielding manufacturing process." GRIDD has spent the past few years developing a process of that sort that could be ported across to a proper facility for use in other vaccine trials. They have now partnered with Brisbane-based biomanufacturing company Luina Bio to deliver the vaccine candidates. "In around one month we will have the immune responses for the vaccine, and we should then be able to produce a vaccine for human testing," he said. "So our timelines are extremely short and our materials are very manufacturable at a large scale." Professor Rehm said the method they were using was different to the method being used by researchers at the University of Queensland, who have also announced they are working on a viable vaccine against COIVD-19. RELATED ARTICLE CV symptoms EXPLAINER CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC What does COVID-19 do to the body and what's it like to have the illness? Add to shortlist "Our technology is unique, all the other technologies are different, the UQ technology is very different to our technology, so it’s a unique approach," he said. "And I felt it was my responsibility to put the technology forward, because the uniqueness of the composition of the materials, linked to the high manufacturability, might provide the solution to contain this outbreak." Professor Rehm said because the process was able to scale up easily, once it had been approved they could conceivably create 16 million doses of the vaccine in one week, or enough for the entire population of Australia in a fortnight. Creating a viable vaccine for humans is usually a long process, however, and the vaccines would have to got through the same regulatory processes the other trails are having to navigate. "To move into humans always requires substantial funding. We could be in production very shortly, within two months, but then it is a regulatory pathway," he said. "There is a process, but given the urgency of the COVID-19 situation, there has been consideration given to fast-track approvals and shorten trials and assessment." The Queensland government recently announced a $17 million funding injection to fast-track the UQ vaccine for coronavirus by six months. Even on that timeline a vaccine would not be ready for widespread human inoculation against coronavirus before early next year. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send via Email License this article CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC SCIENCE RESEARCH PHARMACEUTICALS VACCINATION BRISBANE Stuart Layt Stuart Layt Twitter Email Stuart Layt covers health, science and technology for the Brisbane Times. He was formerly the Queensland political reporter for AAP.

US Senate passes $2.0 trillion bill for 'strange and evil' coronavirus crisis

The US Senate on Wednesday unanimously backed a $2.0 trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries hurt by the coronavirus epidemic, as well as providing billions of dollars to buy urgently needed medical equipment. After bitter negotiations, the deeply divided Senate came together and passed the bill by a 96-0 vote, which sent the massive stimulus package to the House of Representatives for a vote on Friday. President Donald Trump, whose top aides helped negotiate the bipartisan measure, promised to sign it into law as soon as it reaches his desk. “I will sign it immediately,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. The rescue package - which would be the biggest ever passed by Congress - includes a $500 billion fund to help hard-hit industries and a comparable amount for direct payments of up to $3,000 apiece to millions of US families. The legislation will also provide $350 billion for small-business loans, $250 billion for expanded unemployment aid and at least $100 billion for hospitals and related health systems. The package is intended to flood the economy with cash in a bid to stem the impact of an intensifying epidemic that has killed more than 900 people in the United States and infected at least 60,000. Only two other nations, China and Italy, have more coronavirus cases and the World Health Organization has warned the United States looks set to become the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic. Top aides to Trump and senior senators from both parties announced that they had agreed on the unprecedented stimulus bill in the early hours of Wednesday after five days of talks. But it was delayed by criticism from both the right and left on Wednesday, pushing the final vote on passage almost another full day. Several Republican senators had insisted the bill needed to be changed to ensure that laid-off workers would not be paid more in unemployment benefits than they earned on the job. However, an amendment that would have changed the unemployment provision failed just before the Senate approved the measure. There had been criticism of the bill from the most progressive wing of the Democratic-led House. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it “a historic corporate giveaway” on Twitter. House voice vote on Friday However, House leaders hoped the bill would pass by voice vote on Friday, without representatives having to return to Washington. Bringing more than 400 lawmakers from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska would be difficult because a few are in self-quarantine and several states have issued stay-at-home orders. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hoped the bill would pass quickly, and that Congress would pass further legislation if necessary to ease the crisis going forward. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had criticised the bill, saying the $3.8 billion allocated to his state would not cover tax revenue it will lose from reduced economic activity. New York accounts for roughly half of all US coronavirus cases. Pelosi expressed sympathy, but wanted the rescue package to move on. “We (Congress) do have to do more, but that would be no reason to stop this step that we are taking,” she told CNN. The stimulus package follows two others that became law earlier this month. The money at stake amounts to nearly half of the $4.7 trillion the US government spends annually. Investors were cheered by the news of the deal. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 . SPX rallied for a second straight day, closing up 1.15 per cent. Senate leaders noted the historic nature of the challenge, as the country grapples with what the Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called “a strange and evil disease.” “Our nation obviously is going through a kind of crisis that is totally unprecedented in living memory,” Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said shortly before the vote on passage. McConnell also announced that, after passing the bill, the Senate would leave Washington and be in recess at least until April 20. He said he would give senators 24 hours notice if they needed to come back to Washington for another vote before then. Missing from Wednesday’s votes was No. 2 Senate Republican John Thune, who said in a statement he did not feel well when he woke up on Wednesday and decided to take a charter flight home to South Dakota “out of an abundance of caution.” Thune did not say whether he had coronavirus symptoms, although he said he was not advised to self-quarantine. Another Republican senator, Rand Paul, announced on Sunday he had tested positive for the illness, and a handful of others have self-quarantined after being exposed to Paul or others who have had it.

Coronavirus: Trump bans hoarding, price gouging President signs executive order, as attorney-general launches investigations

Washington: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to prevent hoarding and price gouging of crucial medical supplies needed to fight the deadly coronavirus, while Attorney General William Barr announced that the Justice Department has already launched hoarding investigations to carry out the order. “This sends a strong message we will not let those hoarding vital supplies & price gougers to harm the health of America in this hour of need,” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote on Twitter earlier in the evening. The executive order authorizes the US government to directly target hoarders who may threaten the supply of certain medical supplies that the government has designated as scarce or could be threatened by hoarding or price gauging. READ MORE Coronavirus: Iran rejects Trump ‘aid’ offer as toll jumps to 1,685 Army to deploy to New York after Trump declares major disaster, mayor views sites for more hospital beds US: Donald Trump writes to North Korea's Kim offering help in virus fight People who accumulate designated supplies beyond levels considered reasonable for personal or business use can be criminally prosecuted. Barr told reporters at the White House press briefing Monday night that no items have been designated by the government just yet, but investigations into hoarding and price gauging are already underway. ADVERTISING Ads by Teads “We have not waited for this order to be signed. We have received evidence recently. We have already initiated investigations of activities that are disrupting the supply chain and suggestive of hoarding,” Barr said, noting the probes are targeting people hoarding on an “industrial scale” or “manipulating the market” for profit. “If you have a big supply of toilet paper in your house, this is not something you have to worry about. But if you are sitting on a warehouse with...surgical masks, you will be hearing a knock on your door,” he added.

UK: Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Booking.Com And Expedia Strike Data Sharing Deal With The EU

UK: Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Booking.Com And Expedia Strike Data Sharing Deal With The EU 23 March 2020 by David Coulling , Miriam Everett and Jonathan Stephenson Herbert Smith Freehills 5 March 2020 saw the European Commission (EC) announce an unprecedented agreement with short-stay accommodation titans Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor to share and publish data (on the number of nights booked and the number of guests staying) with the EC via Eurostat (the EU's statistical office) (press release here). Eurostat will then aggregate the data by municipality and publish that data on a Member State and individual region level. This collaborative venture represents an initial step by the EC in tackling the absence of regular and reliable data in this area, and recognises the need to balance: (a) the opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs using these growing platforms; and (b) adverse societal effect on local communities of landlords using their properties for short term lets, e.g. increasing property prices. While this agreement has been universally welcomed, it is noted that there are other categories of information that could also be useful from a policy-making perspective, such as the number of listings, hosts, beds and types of accommodation. A number of cities including Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam have previously sought to place restrictions on the use of short-stay accommodation platforms, but this has not always been successful. For example, on 19 December 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the EU's most senior court) ruled that Airbnb did not have to meet particular regulatory requirements as it was correctly classified as an intermediation service rather than an estate agent (a stark contrast to their ruling on Uber with respect to the transportation services space). This new data sharing agreement does not tackle the limited regulatory restrictions that can be placed on online platforms. However, the EC hopes that this data collaboration will allow for more informed and balance policymaking. With a 2019 survey showing that 21% of EU citizens use a website or app to arrange accommodation, there have been numerous calls for a digital regulator to better police this space. It is thought that the much anticipated Digital Services Act will make some progress on this front, but the slow development of this legislation may struggle to match the evolving issues face by online platforms. That said, this remains an interesting example of big tech companies collaborating with supranational bodies on regulation, as well as regulators seeking to become better informed on the nature and effect of new technology platforms to ensure informed decision making in this space.

Coronavirus Crash Reduces 18 Major Companies To Penny Stocks

[22:27, 19/03/2020] Whatsapp Law Enforcement: Coronavirus Crash Reduces 18 Major Companies To Penny Stocks https://finance.yahoo.com/m/be56c5c0-e425-3f13-9501-9ed316c531d4/coronavirus-crash-reduces-18.html [22:28, 19/03/2020] Whatsapp Law Enforcement: 117 comments or reactions: Actually, the pros keep saying "don't sell, ride it out" I have had arguments with fund managers over this, I listened to them and lost hundreds and thousands of dollars, and they are still saying "Now is not the time to sell" tell that to my wife! All told, 18 stocks in the broad S&P 1500, including consumer discretionary J.C. Penney (JCP), energy firms like Denbury Resources (DNR) and real estate firm CBL & Associates (CBL), are now trading for less than a buck. The S&P 1500 is a collection of small stocks in the S&P 600, midsize S&P 400 and large S&P 500 companies. All the S&P 1500 trading for less than $1 were admittedly damaged goods ahead of the coronavirus market crash. Even before the crash, the average share price of the 18 was just 2.87. But this coronavirus market crash is showing even weak stocks can get decimated further. These 18 S&P 1500 stocks are down another 80%, on average, this year. Makes cash look supreme. SPDR Sector ETFs: Intraday % Chg. Consumer StaplesXLP-2.57% Communication ServicesXLC-3.32% Health CareXLV-3.32% Information TechnologyXLK-3.77% UtilitiesXLU-4.35% Consumer DiscretionaryXLY-5.74% MaterialsXLB-6.39% Real EstateXLRE-7.02% IndustrialsXLI-7.37% FinancialsXLF-8.49% EnergyXLE-14.36% Provided by Nasdaq Last Sale. Real-time quote and/or trade prices are not sourced from all markets. Energy Stocks Get Pounded There's no question energy is the center of the coronavirus market crash. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) is down 58%, just this year. That makes the S&P 500's energy sector the worst performer this year of the 11. Energy is hurt from all sides. Transportation is grinding to a halt. And the price of oil on the Nymex is down 55% this year and off 39% this month. Even if some energy stocks stay over a dollar, they might slash their dividends. Not surprisingly, energy companies are crashing through $1 like none others. Thirteen of the 18 S&P 1500 stocks trading for under a dollar are energy firms. Take Denbury Resources. The small-cap energy firm's stock collapsed to 27 cents. That's down 81% this year from the $1.41 a share it started at this year. And it's completely rational. Analysts think the company's earnings per share will fall 70% to 12 cents this year. And even that might prove optimistic. Small-Cap Debacle In Cornavirus Market Crash Much of the coronavirus market crash pain is with small stocks. The small-cap focused S&P 600 and ETFs tied to it are down 39% this year. That's significantly worse than the 21% drop in the large-stock S&P 500 and the linked SPY stock. And it's not surprising, all 18 of the S&P 1500 new penny stocks are small caps. That includes former large-cap J.C. Penney. The retailer is now trading for 42 cents a share, making it worth just $164 million. That's a 63% decline, just this year. If the coronavirus market crash continues, though, expect some midsize and large companies to drop below $1 next. Midsize energy firm Transocean (RIG) is the closest S&P 400 stock to $1. Shares are down 83% this year to 1.16. And among the S&P 500, Noble Energy (NBL) is down 87% this year to 3.23. So again, if you're holding individual stocks, you need to cut your losses. Things can get worse. S&P 1500 Stocks Now Trading For Pennies Company Ticker Index Constituents [Primary Listing] Stock Price On 3/18/2020 Sector YTD Ch. HighPoint Resources (HPR) S&P 600 0.23 Energy -86.2% Denbury Resources (DNR) S&P 600 0.27 Energy -80.7% Noble (NE) S&P 600 0.30 Energy -75.5% CBL & Associates Properties (CBL) S&P 600 0.31 Real Estate -70.7% Oasis Petroleum (OAS) S&P 600 0.37 Energy -88.7% TETRA Technologies (TTI) S&P 600 0.37 Energy -81.1% QEP Resources (QEP) S&P 600 0.38 Energy -91.5% Laredo Petroleum (LPI) S&P 600 0.39 Energy -86.4% Nabors Industries (NBR) S&P 600 0.40 Energy -86.1% J.C. Penney (JCP) S&P 600 0.42 Consumer Discretionary -62.5% Callon Petroleum (CPE) S&P 600 0.45 Energy -90.7% Valaris (VAL) S&P 600 0.53 Energy -91.9% Akorn (AKRX) S&P 600 0.55 Health Care -63.3% Gulfport Energy (GPOR) S&P 600 0.58 Energy -81.0% Ring Energy (REI) S&P 600 0.68 Energy -74.2% Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) S&P 600 0.75 Health Care -63.2% Cedar Realty Trust (CDR) S&P 600 0.86 Real Estate -70.8% U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA) S&P 600 0.88 Energy -85.7% Source: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Watch These 5 'Absolute Losers'; Futures Volatile Why You Should Hope This Coronavirus Bear Market Is Like 1987 How Much The Coronavirus Bear Market Is Costing Every American Thirteen Companies Drown On Debt In Coronavirus Crash Check Out IBD's New IBD Live Panel Discussion TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT IBD’s Getting Started Get started making money with IBD and make smarter investing decisions. Take a tour now! IBD Digital Spring Sale! We're celebrating a new season with a great deal: 5 weeks of IBD Digital for only $5. Get it now! Watch the Latest Podcast! Hear Scott O’Neil’s analysis of the market correction and learn how to protect your portfolio. SECTORS Coronavirus Stock Market Crash Plays Reveal What's Going On FacebookTwitterLinkedInShare Licensing MATT KRANTZ08:00 AM ET 03/18/2020 Getting out of the coronavirus stock market crash — and staying out — is prudent for traders. But daring ETF investors might still monitor how trends are working amid the volatility. Three main market themes with ETFs come to mind: plays on market volatility, consumer staples and medical breakthroughs. Not all funds tied to these themes are up since the S&P 500 peaked on Feb. 19. But each one illustrates important trends to watch as the coronavirus infects markets. Traders are looking for any clues for how long the volatility will continue. "Dow 20,000 will be an important number to watch both for support and resistance over the next few weeks," said Fane Lozman, trader at Scanshift.com. How can ETFs signal movements going on inside the topsy-turvy coronavirus stock market crash? Here are some signs to keep an eye on. SPDR Sector ETFs: Intraday % Chg. Consumer StaplesXLP-2.57% Communication ServicesXLC-3.32% Health CareXLV-3.32% Information TechnologyXLK-3.77% UtilitiesXLU-4.35% Consumer DiscretionaryXLY-5.74% MaterialsXLB-6.39% Real EstateXLRE-7.02% IndustrialsXLI-7.37% FinancialsXLF-8.49% EnergyXLE-14.36% Provided by Nasdaq Last Sale. Real-time quote and/or trade prices are not sourced from all markets. ETFs Tied To Coronavirus Stock Market Crash Fear Fear is off the charts. And that's given investors a way to profit. Just don't expect the extreme fright to continue. The CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index, a measure of investors' fears, has spiked more than 400% this year. The volatility index surged to a rating of more than 82 on March 16, setting an all-time record of fear. The week's VIX reading, which is keyed to fear in the market, surpassed the 80.86 high at the peak of terror during the late 2008 financial crisis. Not surprisingly, investments that let investors profit from skyrocketing fear spiked, too. The largest of its kind, the $2.9 billion-in-assets, VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (TVIX), surged more than 1,306% from the S&P 500's Feb. 19 peak. The fund uses leverage and VIX futures to amp up gains when volatility spikes. If you didn't catch the spike, though, Lozman says don't jump on it now. He says the historic jump in market fear in the coronavirus stock market crash is unlikely to return to the 82 level. Fear and volatility could actually trend lower even if markets sink further. "The longer we grind around (Dow 20,000) the more volatility will contract," he said. Dave Nadig, chief investment officer at ETFtrends.com, agrees. "VIX ETFs are day-trading tools. Period. Even owning one overnight seems like a pretty aggressive speculation right now," he said. "No normal investor should even consider them. Betting on VIX day to day is just like betting on coin flips." Consumer Staples Perk Up In Coronavirus Stock Market Crash Finding S&P 500 stocks that are up through all this is tough. But a number of S&P 500 Consumer Staples giants come to mind. Clorox (CLX), Kroger (KR) and Campbell Soup (CPB) are all up from the S&P 500's peak. Consumers are stockpiling food, turning these slow-growing stocks into a place for large investors to hide from the coronavirus stock market crash. Fearful investors "are looking to defensive health care and consumer staples ETFs" amid the coronavirus stock market crash, says Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA. "When the going gets tough the tough get eating, drinking and smoking. Then they have to go to the doctor." The $426 million-in-assets Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (RHS) owns the greatest weight of any ETF of top-performing Clorox stock, at 4.2% of its portfolio. But while Clorox is up 17% from the market's high, the Invesco ETF is down 14%. "I worry that people are coming way late to this," Nadig said. "I don't see a reason for (consumer staples) to continue to be valued higher ... than the market now that we're processing the impacts on the real economy." Spotting Medical Breakthroughs In S&P 500 Regeneron (REGN) and Gilead Sciences (GILD) are the biggest S&P 500 winners in this coronavirus stock market crash. Both companies are working on treatments for the outbreak. That showcases their other developments, too. Regeneron alone is up more than 20% from the February high. With so many companies rushing for a treatment, investors logically want to spread their bet. The $44.5 million-in-assets Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) holds a larger position in Regeneron, 7.7%, than any other ETF, says ETF.com. But Regeneron is also a significant holding, 7.2%, in the $313 million in assets VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF (BBH). The VanEck ETF also puts 8.9% of its portfolio in Gilead. Nadig has concerns with health care investments, too, though. "The entire global medical and pharma industry is going to face incredible scrutiny coming out of this," he said. "There's an increased chance for nationalization of many parts of the medical economy, around the world, once we come out of this and start rethinking our societal response." Select Plays On Coronavirus Stock Market Crash Symbol ETF Stock % Ch. From 2/19/2020 Market High Consumer Staples Own largest amounts of Clorox stock RHS Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF -13.2% JHMS John Hancock Multifactor Consumer Staples ETF -14.6% LVHD Legg Mason Low Volatility High Dividend ETF -23.7% Volatility TVIX VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN 1,398.2% VIIX VelocityShares Daily Long VIX Short-Term ETN 337.0% SH ProShares Short S&P500 27.5% Innovative Breakthroughs BBH VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF -16.7% CNCR Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy ETF -17.5% IDNA ishares Genomics Immunology And Healthcare ETF -20.4% BOUT Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF -26.0% BIB ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology -37.4% SPY* SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust -25.6% Source: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence, SPY shown for comparison Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Why You Should Hope This Coronavirus Bear Market Is Like 1987 How Much The Coronavirus Bear Market Is Costing Every American Thirteen Companies Drown On Debt In Coronavirus Crash Check Out IBD's New IBD Live Panel Discussion

RBA rate cut 'was widely expected'

RBA rate cut 'was widely expected' 19/03/2020|4min The Australian’s Adam Creighton has provided an analysis of the latest historic RBA rate cut which was handed down on Thursday saying, "I don't think it is too significant". "It was widely expected," he told Sky News. The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates to a historic low of 0.25 per cent in a bid to help ease pressure on the economy amid the coronavirus crisis. The rare out-of-cycle meeting for the Reserve Bank saw rates drop by a quarter of a per cent on Thursday as part of the emergency measures. It is the second time rates have been cut in the March month. =============== #RBA conducting repo ops & ready to purchase bonds to support smooth functioning Expect further easing Thurs to include: * 25bp rate cut taking it to 0.25% * yield curve control backed up by QE (bond buying) * some sort of cheap funding deal for banks conditional on lending #ASX200 closed in the red with most of the sectors in negative territory! #ausbiz #markets #marketcrash #interestrates #ratecut #auspol2020 #RBA #RBANews #CentralBanks #StimulusPackage2020 #covid19australia RBA cuts rate 0.25% to 0.25% and ASX 200 Real Estate index plunged another -15% !! -40% from high in just 3 weeks to almost 8 years low. Lawdy, cutting 0.25% from 0.5% isn’t going to stimulate the economy. People aren’t spending, the market is volatile and banks probably won’t pass on all the rate cut. If anything, it will make people nervous about negative rates. Monetary policy is irrelevant. #auspol #rba Quote Tweet RBA: cuts cash rate to 0.25% - commitment not to raise till progress toward full emp & infl target to target a 3 yr yld of 0.25% backed by purchases of gov bonds cheap funding for banks for 3yrs at 0.25% partly conditional on lending to biz Should have targetted the 10yr yld! The US Federal Reserve has been attempting to stop investor panic with its emergency actions, but those moves are like firing “a water gun” when we need “a bazooka,” Tobin Smith, CEO of Transformity Research, believes. Speaking to RT’s Boom Bust, the analyst said that the real problem is in the US debt market, as there is four times as much debt than there was in 2008-2009. “This is as a financial disaster, as a health disaster as an economic disaster – is like we got three neutron bombs dropped on us,” Smith warned. “First we obviously have the coronavirus and the pandemic, then we’ve got the oil pandemic... and then the third bomb is the government sitting around doing sort of half measures when we’ve essentially had a virtual economic attack.” Those factors have equal ripple effects across all the financial system and have already plunged the country into a recession, he noted, adding that the S&P Index can drop to 1,600 points. And now Washington needs to deliver another “neutron bomb that offsets the neutron bomb that had been exploded into our system,” according to Smith

Housing and Urban Development Department will suspend foreclosures and evictions through April to help the growing number of Americans who face losing jobs and missing rent and mortgage payments.

The Federal Reserve has taken emergency action and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero. It also announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The central bank said the effects of the outbreak will weigh on economic activity in the near term and pose risks to the economic outlook. The central bank said it will keep rates at nearly zero until it feels confident the economy has weathered recent events. The Fed also said it will purchase 500 billion US dollars of Treasury securities and 200 billion dollars of mortgage-backed securities to smooth over market disruptions that have made it hard for banks and large investors to sell Treasuries. The disruptions bumped up the yield on the 10-year Treasury last week, an unusual move that threatens to push borrowing costs for mortgages and credit cards higher. The Fed also said it has dropped its requirements that banks hold cash reserves in another move to encourage lending. Housing and Urban Development Department will suspend foreclosures and evictions through April to help the growing number of Americans who face losing jobs and missing rent and mortgage payments. Meanwhile the administration pushed forward its broad economic rescue plan, which proposes $500 billion in checks to millions of Americans, with the first checks to come April 6 if Congress approves. The government has told Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 people and the elderly to stay home while a pointed reminder was given to millennials to follow the guidelines and avoid social gatherings. Trump likened the effort to the measures taken during World War II and said it would require national “sacrifice." WASHINGTON — Describing himself as a “wartime president” fighting an invisible enemy, President Donald Trump invoked rarely used emergency powers to marshal critical medical supplies against the coronavirus pandemic. Trump also signed an aid package — which the Senate approved earlier Wednesday — that will guarantee sick leave to workers who fall ill. Trump on Wednesday tapped his authority under the 70-year-old Defense Production Act to give the government more power to steer production by private companies and try to overcome shortages in masks, ventilators and other supplies.Yet he seemed to minimize the urgency of the decision, later tweeting that he "only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst case scenario in the future.""Hopefully there will be no need," he added, “but we are all in this TOGETHER!”The mixed messaging came as Trump took a series of other extraordinary steps to steady the nation, its day-to-day life suddenly and fundamentally altered.The Canada-U.S. border, the world's longest, was effectively closed, save for commerce and essential travel, while the administration pushed its plan to send relief checks to millions of Americans.Trump said he will expand the nation's diagnostic testing capacity and deploy a Navy hospital ship to New York City, which is rapidly becoming an epicenter of the pandemic, and another such ship to the West Coast. And the Housing and Urban Development Department will suspend foreclosures and evictions through April to help the growing number of Americans who face losing jobs and missing rent and mortgage payments.But as Trump laid out efforts to help the economy, markets plummeted. Gone were nearly all the gains that the Dow Jones Industrial Average had made since Trump took office. The administration announcements came on a fast-moving day of developments across the capital, its empty streets standing in contrast to the whirlwind of activity inside the grand spaces of the White House and the Capitol.The Senate overwhelmingly passed a second coronavirus response bill, which Trump signed Wednesday night. The vote was a lopsided 90-8 despite worries by many Republicans about a temporary new employer mandate to provide sick leave to workers who get COVID-19. The measure is also aimed at making tests for the virus free.Meanwhile the administration pushed forward its broad economic rescue plan, which proposes $500 billion in checks to millions of Americans, with the first checks to come April 6 if Congress approves.The White House urged hospitals to cancel all elective surgeries to reduce the risk of being overwhelmed by cases. The president was pressed on why a number of celebrities, like professional basketball players, seemed to have easier access to diagnostic tests than ordinary citizens.“Perhaps that's the story of life," Trump said. "I've heard that happens on occasion.”Trump dismissed a suggestion from his own treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, that the nation could face 20% unemployment at least in the short term.That's an "absolute total worst case scenario," Trump said. “We're no way near it."The government has told Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 people and the elderly to stay home while a pointed reminder was given to millennials to follow the guidelines and avoid social gatherings. Trump likened the effort to the measures taken during World War II and said it would require national “sacrifice."“It's a war," he said. "I view it as a, in a sense, a wartime president. It's a very tough situation.”No longer able to run for reelection on a healthy economy, he was taking on the mantle of a wartime leader after played down the severity of the crisis for weeks.The president also employed more nativist, us-vs-them rhetoric at the briefing, continuing his recent habit of referring to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus,” which has been sharply criticized as racist. “It's not racist at all," Trump said. “It comes from China, that's all."He was asked about a report that a White House aide had referred to the virus as the “Kung flu" when talking to an Asian-American reporter and Trump did not signal disapproval of the offensive term.Trump later met nursing leaders and expressed “gratitude for those on the front lines in our war against the global pandemic" as he held out hope that the pandemic would be over soon.“It's been something, but we're winning and we will win,” he said. “It's a question of when and I think it's going to go quickly. We hope it's going to go quickly.”A limited number of people gathered around a large table, their chairs spread apart in a display of social distancing.The Defense Production Act gives the president broad authority to shape the domestic industrial base so that it is capable of providing essential materials and goods needed in a national security crisis. The law allows the president to require businesses and corporations to give priority to and accept contracts for required materials and services.The executive order issued by Trump gives Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar the authority to determine “the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all health and medical resources, including controlling the distribution of such materials ... in the civilian market, for responding to the spread of COVID-19 within the United States.” It also applies to certain health services.Trump also said he would soon invoke a rarely used federal statute that would enable the U.S. to tighten controls along the southwest border because of the new coronavirus, based on a recommendation of the U.S. surgeon general.The president said the law, intended to halt the spread of communicable diseases, would give authorities “great latitude" to help control the outbreak. Earlier, U.S. officials told The Associated Press that the administration would invoke the law to immediately turn back all people who cross the border illegally from Mexico and to refuse people the right to claim asylum there.More than eight weeks after the first U.S. case of the virus was detected, the federal government is still struggling to conduct widescale testing for the virus. Compounding the problem, laboratories are reporting shortages of supplies needed to run the tests, which officials urged to be given to those most likely to have COVID-19.Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the White House response, cautioned that there has been a backlog of swabs waiting in labs to be tested, and as that backlog clears “we will see the number of people diagnosed dramatically increased” in the next few days.Asked about the administration's mixed messages when it comes to the threat posed by the virus, Birx said new studies about how long the virus can be transmissible on hard surfaces helped prompt the administration’s tightening of recommendations on social distancing. “None of us really understood" that, she said. “We’re still working out how much is by human transmission and how much is it by surface.” She added, "Don’t exposure yourself to surfaces outside the home.”For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.As it tries to get its message to the public, the White House said a series of ads, digital and on television, will feature the president and first lady Melania Trump urging Americans to follow the guidelines. Birx also renewed her call for younger people to follow federal guidelines and stop meeting in groups.She said there have been “concerning reports” from France and Italy about young people becoming seriously ill. The task force last week urged young generations to avoid going out to bars and restaurants and to avoid groups of more than 10 people.“We cannot have these large gatherings that continue throughout the country for people who are off work,” Birx said. She added that the federal pandemic task force so far has not seen any “significant mortality” in children.The White House has had several coronavirus-related health scares, with the president himself exposed to at least three people who later tested positive. Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Wednesday that she had tested negative for the virus. McDaniel, who met last week with the president and Senate Republicans, had previously been exposed to someone who tested positive.___Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Matthew Perrone, Darlene Superville, Robert Burns, Deb Riechmann and Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.