June 11 Recycler Update

Economy:
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve projected that the U.S. economy will shrink by 6.5 percent this year and that unemployment will only drop to 9.3 percent. This is despite a positive May jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that found the U.S. economy added 2.5 million jobs last month.

COVID-19 Relief:
The Federal Reserve made sweeping changes to its Main Street Lending Program. Due to fears of there being little demand for the $600 billion loan program meant to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the changes, the new minimum amount companies can borrow is $250,000 down from $500,000. The Fed also extended the repayment period from four to five years and will increase the repayment period to two years. These changes are designed to broaden the appeal of the program, which has received little in the way of excitement or interest from businesses.
 
Automotive:
Recent data from the Department of Transportation shows that car traffic dropped by nearly 40 percent this past April from April 2019 as a result of stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that only about 34 percent of collisions could be avoided through the use of self-driving cars.