CNBC Economy

Shutdown measures must be coupled with massive federal government support to sustain the population through isolation and prime the economy to pick up where it left off, Bullard says.

Sandberg said on Tuesday that Facebook will do what it can to help its employees and small businesses manage through the coronavirus outbreak.

"It looks to me like the order of magnitude in most states seems to be about 10 times higher than the normal weekly numbers before the crisis," said Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson.

The Fed is throwing all its fire power at markets, but interest rates continue to rise, a troubling sign when the economy looks set to slow.

Bank of America issued a dire warning to investors on Thursday: The recession is here.

Thursday's spike in weekly jobless claims, considered the canary in the coal mine for labor, signals the start of a crush of layoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Jobless claims rose to 281,000 last week, reflecting only the first indications of the impact the coronavirus will have on the U.S. employment picture

The Bridgewater Associates founder also estimated the global corporate losses will hit $12 trillion due to the pandemic.

U.S. producer prices fell by the most in five years in February, pulled down by declines in the costs of goods such as gasoline and services.

As the coronavirus outbreak threatens to bring U.S. economic activity to a grinding halt, American businesses are jockeying for a financial lifeline from the administration of President Donald Trump.

The new Money Market Mutual Liquidity Fund will provide loans to financial institutions to buy assets from prime money market funds.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a $100 billion coronavirus aid package into law which includes provisions for emergency paid leave for workers as well as free testing.

Detroit's Big Three automakers plan to temporarily close all U.S. factories as the coronavirus sweeps across the country.

Sanders also called for robust unemployment insurance, a moratorium on evictions and a waiver on all student loan payments.

Some of the biggest policy proposals so far include an announcement from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin that the government is looking at mailing Americans cash assistance and legislation passed by the House of Representatives that provides paid sick leave to some American workers this year.

"America will end as we know it. I'm sorry to say so, unless we take this option," Ackman said.

The first wave of bad economic news directly related to the coronavirus crisis is likely to come from weekly jobless claims figures.

The double-barreled approach of a $1 trillion proposed fiscal stimulus program and Federal Reserve policy could help soften the blow of a recession.

U.S. homebuilding fell in February, pulled down by a sharp decline in the construction of multifamily housing units, and could continue to weaken as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts economic activity.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Republican senators that the country's unemployment rate could hit 20% if they failed to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package and there was lasting economic damage, a person familiar with the closed-door meeting said.