Bleak economic numbers released

The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8 percent annual rate last quarter, the Commerce Department estimated on Wednesday. Nearly every economic indicator—including gross domestic product, consumer spending, business investment—has plummeted since the coronavirus pandemic hit. And this quarter’s numbers likely will be worse.

How bad will it get? The Congressional Budget Office estimates economic activity will plunge at a 40 percent annual rate from April through June. It could be the bleakest quarter since government officials started compiling such records in 1947, and four times the size of the worst quarterly contraction on record, set in 1958. Economists are hoping for what they call a V-shaped recovery, with the economy growing quickly once the public health threat subsides.

Dig deeper: Host Nick Eicher and financial analyst David Bahnsen discuss the latest economic news every Monday on The World and Everything in It. Listen to their past conversations.