CNBC Economy

Mortgage volume appears to be settling into a new normal, as refinance demand stays high and purchase demand sits at a five-year low.

Areas such as construction should be the first to come back, John Williams told CNBC.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has hired high-powered consultants to develop a science-based plan for the safe economic reopening of the region, state government sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The most recent count represented a drop from the previous two weeks but still showed that the damage to the U.S. labor market remains profound.

The jobless claims report showed that it took only four weeks for the U.S. economy to erase all the job gains in the last 11 years.

"The damage that is being done every day is enormous," Expedia and IAC Chairman Barry Diller told CNBC on Thursday.

U.S. homebuilding fell more than expected in March as the Covid-19 outbreak slammed the housing industry, despite lower mortgage rates.

It wasn't supposed to work like this: The Federal Reserve was not going to have to come back and rescue the economy the way it did during the financial crisis

"It's a tremendous program to keep our business afloat," said one small business owner.

Consumer and manufacturing data showed the hit to the economy from the coronavirus was even swifter and deeper in the early weeks of the shutdown than expected.

Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level in the Mortgage Bankers Association's survey, causing yet another rush to refinance.

Economic activity has fallen sharply due to measures taken during the coronavirus scare, with leisure and hospitality as well as retail the hardest-hit so far, according to the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book report.

CNBC's Steve Liesman reports the latest from the Federal Reserve's 'Beige Book' report. He discusses what impact the Fed is seeing on the economy from coronavirus.

"Many of the very populous countries need extra support right now," World Bank President David Malpass told CNBC on Wednesday.

Last month saw over 106,000 people working in clean energy roles lose their jobs.

This month's HMI survey was conducted from April 1 to April 13, after millions of Americans had been issued orders to stay home to stem the spread of the virus.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index for April plunged to -78.2, more than twice as bad as expected and more than double the worst during the Great Recession.

New data shows the government's stimulus checks are providing much-needed relief to Americans struggling with day-to-day living costs.

U.S. retail sales for the month of March were expected to sink by 8.0%, after slipping 0.5% a month earlier.

Since early March, roughly 60% of employers have decreased job openings due to the coronavirus, with almost 25% of employers closing all of their postings, according to Glassdoor.