GOP Wants Another Airline Bailout, Oil Patch Woes, And More

Two leading Republican senators introduced legislation Monday that would give airlines and ground contractors another $28 billion in payroll support to avert tens of thousands of layoffs planned for the beginning of October.

There is broad bipartisan support in Congress for providing more government help to the airlines, which continue to struggle as fewer people travel during the pandemic. But reaching a final deal on any extra help has been stymied by lawmakers’ inability to agree on a broader coronavirus relief package.

America’s economy has shown “marked improvement” since the coronavirus pandemic drove it into recession, but the path ahead remains “highly uncertain”, the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, told a congressional panel on Tuesday.

Noting the rebound in jobs and household spending since the economy cratered in the spring and early summer, Powell said it still remains far from where it was “and the path ahead continues to be highly uncertain … A full recovery is likely to come only when people are confident it is safe to re-engage in a broad range of activities” with the coronavirus under control.

Oil prices have, once again, dropped below $40.00 a barrel, as the demand for oil and gas continues to wane and the supply of oil is being maintained.

Given this economic scene, the years and years of debt accumulation on the part of firms within the industry is catching up and bankruptcies are accelerating.

The federal government’s upcoming Throne Speech is widely expected to include a green recovery strategy to rebuild the Canadian economy after COVID-19.

But what the strategy will say about the future of fossil-fuel production in Canada and the government’s decision to build an oil pipeline remains an open question.