“U.S. stocks wrapped up their best quarter in more than 20 years, a remarkable rally after the coronavirus pandemic brought business around the world to a virtual standstill,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Just three months ago, investors were lamenting the end of the bull market—and the longest economic expansion on record—after major U.S. stock indexes lost about 35% of their value in less than six weeks. The subsequent rebound has been nearly as brisk.”

A must-read from the Wall Street Journal:

“March 16 was the day a microscopic virus brought the financial system to the brink. Few realized how close it came to going over the edge entirely…”

“The financial system has endured numerous credit crunches and market crashes, and memories of the 1987 and 2008 crises set a high bar for market dysfunction. But longtime investors and those who make a living on Wall Street say mid-March of this year was far more severe in a short period. Moreover, the stresses to the financial system were broader than many had seen.”

President Trump accused wealthy investors for supposedly manipulating the stock market by making strong statements, CNBC reports.

Said Trump: “When the so-called ‘rich guys’ speak negatively about the market, you must always remember that some are betting big against it, and make a lot of money if it goes down. Then they go positive, get big publicity, and make it going up. They get you both ways. Barely legal?”

New York Times: “There are two main reasons: First, trillions of dollars of stimulus money from the Fed and Congress come with an implicit guarantee that the government will limit investors’ risk no matter how bad it gets. Second, the periodic glimmer of positive news fuels investors’ optimism that things can only get better.”

“The Senate Banking Committee is expected to mark up Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve next Tuesday, a signal she is expected to pass the panel along with Christopher Waller, another Fed nominee,” The Hill reports.

“Shelton has since backed off her advocacy for returning to the gold standard.”

Wall Street Journal: “They say the Fed’s extraordinary interventions — which include lending programs and asset purchases—make equities more attractive to hold with government bond yields near zero and other havens like gold also near peaks. Meanwhile, many hope Congressional stimulus measures will help carry businesses and consumers through the lockdowns. But some analysts caution that restarting global commerce will be a slow, painful process, prompting some worries that stocks are rising too quickly.”

“Short sellers have revived their wagers against the stock market in recent weeks, taking their most aggressive positions in years,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Wall Street Journal: “The kickoff of earnings season this week will give investors a first glimpse of the impact of the coronavirus shutdown on corporate profits—and potentially clues about the outlook for the rest of the year.”

“Those results will offer a test for a stock market that is attempting to rebound after a bruising selloff. The pandemic is expected to cause a severe economic contraction and a sharp decline in corporate earnings in 2020. What remains unknown is the extent of the damage.”

President Trump sent out a jubilant tweet celebrating four good days for the stock market while the reported coronavirus death toll in the United States overtook Spain’s to become the second highest in the world.

New York Times: Everything is awful. Why is the stock market booming?

“Tucked into the recent recovery bill was a provision granting the Federal Reserve the right to set up a $450 billion bailout plan without following key provisions of the federal open meetings law, including announcing its meetings or keeping most records about them,” Politico reports.

“The provision, the existence of which has not been previously reported, further calls into question the transparency and oversight for the biggest bailout law ever passed by Congress. President Trump has indicated he does not plan to comply with another part of the new law intended to boost Congress’ oversight powers of the bailout funds…”

“The changes at the central bank – which appear to have been inserted into the 880-page bill by sympathetic senators during the scramble to get it approved — would address a complaint that the Fed faced during the 2008 financial crisis, when board members couldn’t easily hold group conversations to address the fast-moving economic turmoil.”

“The U.S. mortgage finance system could collapse if the Federal Reserve doesn’t step in with emergency loans to offset a coming wave of missed payments from borrowers crippled by the coronavirus pandemic,” Politico reports.

“Congress did not include relief for the mortgage industry in its $2 trillion rescue package — even as lawmakers required mortgage companies to allow homeowners up to a year’s delay in making payments on federally backed loans.”

“U.S. stocks rallied sharply Tuesday, with the Dow surging to its biggest one-day gain in more than 85 years on signs that lawmakers and the Trump administration were nearing a deal on a giant stimulus package aimed at limiting the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Washington Post: “The massive stimulus is designed to be a lifeline to Americans and their employers until the coronavirus is brought under control and the country returns to some semblance of normalcy. The Federal Reserve signaled the gravity of the situation Monday when, in an unprecedented move, said it would spend whatever it takes to preserve the U.S. financial system.”

“Top executives at U.S.-traded companies sold a total of roughly $9.2 billion in shares of their own companies between the start of February and the end of last week,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

And a reader reminds me of this post from November.