Seven weeks ago, Fed Chair Jerome Powell publicly said he expected economic activity would resume in the second half of the year.<br />But on Wednesday, Reuters reports Powell offered a much darker outlook.<br />In an interview webcast by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Powell warned of an "extended period" of weak economic growth.<br />The situation is tied to uncertainty about how well the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic could be controlled in the United States.<br />There is a sense, a growing sense I think, that the recovery may come more slowly than we would like. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell<br />More than 83,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 so far. Many epidemiological models predict deaths will surpass 100,000 in a matter of weeks.<br />Overall new cases of the virus continue to climb as well, as states end lockdowns and reopen local economies.
