Powell faces lawmakers` skepticism on some Fed aid programs
(World News USA)

Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday defended the Federal Reserve's efforts to support the economy during the pandemic-induced recession from assertions that its programs bungled aspects of its response. A House subcommittee released a staff analysis that found that a program in which the Fed bought corporate bonds to try to support companies struggling in the pandemic included buying bonds of companies that laid off more than 1 million workers since March. The report from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis concluded that 383 companies whose bonds were bought by the Fed had continued to pay dividends to shareholders, with 95 of those companies also laying off workers. The...