Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Tuesday that a tentative recovery from the pandemic recession could falter unless the federal government supplies additional economic support. Yet hours after Powell’s remarks, President Donald Trump announced that he was cutting off talks with Democrats over a new economic aid package until after the November elections. Trump’s move would mean that millions of jobless Americans and struggling businesses and states will receive no further federal support for weeks, if not months, to come, just as the economy is struggling to recover from a deep recession. Powell, in his speech, asserted that economic support from the government — including expanded unemployment insurance payments, direct payments to most U.S. households and financial support for small businesses — has so far prevented a recessionary “downward spiral” in which job losses would reduce spending, forcing businesses to cut even more jobs. But the […]