The Federal Reserve is following in the footsteps of the Bank of Japan and starting to purchase corporate debt and select ETFs. So it looks like big corporations are the first to get a handout from the government.
- The SMCCF will purchase in the secondary market corporate bonds issued by investment grade U.S. companies and U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds whose investment objective is to provide broad exposure to the market for U.S. investment grade corporate bonds.
The Fed is also loaning to "Small Businesses" in several sectors who can back the loan with $10-$100 billion in assets. These loans are non-recourse. So businesses with more than $10B in assets can borrow from the Fed with no intention of paying them back. This feels like a direct bailout for Billionaires. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/files/monetary20200323b3.pdfNon-Recourse: Loans made under the TALF are made without recourse to the borrower, provided the requirements of the TALF are met.
The last draft of the bailout bill I saw said we had to provide our employees with 2 weeks of paid sick leave, despite the fact that they're contractors, and to cover it we would be extended a loan, except since it's a healthcare practice we're exempt from any of it because healthcare workers aren't allowed to get sick.
It's sad that there is going to be a lot of suffering with the priority now on the economy / bailouts rather than ramping up medical supplies, beds, medical staff, etc. to fight this. We need a real escape - https://www.epsilontheory.com/our-escape-story/