Municipal Credit Two Months into the New COVID-19 Normal
05/20/2020
The current financial landscape state and local governments and other municipal bond issuers find themselves navigating is almost beyond imagination. The steps many states and local governments have taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 have slowed most economies to a crawl. Some states are beginning to slowly open but economic activity remains minimal. Over 20 million workers were released in April, and the unemployment rate was 14.7% according to data released at the beginning of the May. Airport and mass transit activity is only a fraction of the norm. Hospitals are trying to adjust to the new standard. Questions remain about whether or not primary, secondary, and higher education students will even return to classrooms in the fall. This is the new COVID-19 normal.
