A moment of silence for the 10-year

WED, MAR 04, 2020

YOUR AFTERNOON NEWS UPDATE AND MARKET ACTION FROM CNBC

AS OF WED, MAR 04, 2020 • 11:50 ET

DJIA		26400.20
		+1.86%	+482.79

S&P 500		3048.15
		+1.49%	+44.78

NASDAQ		8792.74
		+1.25%	+108.65

EDITOR'S NOTE

There is no newsletter today. (Well, except there is. But you know what I mean.)

I would simply like to offer up the fact that the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is below 0.97% right now. We hit 0.9% yesterday afternoon and then I stopped watching because it made my head hurt too much. And my heart. I don't know exactly what this means for our country except that it takes us much closer to the status of Japan and Europe's zombification than I'd ever, ever hoped would happen.

I can't help but blame the Fed. I will keep trying to consider other options. To be fair, I'm only blaming them because we didn't do fiscal stimulus. But they still could have resisted and said no, we need targeted coronavirus relief, not rate cuts that will take us perilously close to zero! Fiscal stimulus can *also* lift the 10-year yield and get the neutral rate back up!

But what do I know? I'm not an economist. I've just studied them for the past decade-plus.

This is already too long for not being a newsletter today, so I'll leave it at that. On a happier note, Rapid Fire is back today. There's a lot to discuss between the Super Tuesday results, the market rebound today, and the coronavirus latest. Did you know the health insurance/providers ETF is having its best day since 2008? It's up about 7%, because Medicare for All seems a lesser possibility today.

Much more at 1 p.m. See you then......

Kelly

P.S. The Exchange is now a podcast! Click to subscribe and never miss a Rapid Fire.

Kelly Evans
Twitter: @KellyCNBC

Instagram: @realkellyevans

KEY STORIES

Chinese scientists identify two strains of the coronavirus, indicating it's already mutated at least once

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Coronavirus live updates: LA county declares emergency, New York family all test positive

As of Wednesday, more than 93,455 cases of coronavirus have been reported, resulting in at least 3,198 deaths.

Mike Bloomberg drops out of 2020 presidential race, endorses Joe Biden

Mike Bloomberg said Joe Biden has the best shot of defeating President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Italy to close all schools and universities for two weeks as coronavirus death toll rises

The closure would come into effect from Thursday and will last until mid-March.

New York family of four tests positive for coronavirus as state cases climb to 6

"There are going to be many, many people who test positive," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Weekly mortgage refinances spike 26% as interest rates tank on coronavirus fears

A sharp drop in mortgage interest rates had borrowers rushing to their lenders last week. Refinance volume spiked.

Private payrolls up 183,000 as hiring shows no signs of coronavirus scare

Employment rose by 183,000 for the month, according to a report Wednesday from Moody's Analytics that topped the 155,000 that economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected.

Los Angeles-area officials declare emergency after confirming six new coronavirus cases over 48 hours

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While there are still just over 100 confirmed cases in the U.S., Scott Gottlieb said the undetected number is likely in the thousands.

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Bigi Jackson, born Prince Michael Jackson II and nicknamed Blanket by his father, Michael Jackson, spent millions on a home in a 24/7 guard-gated community in Calabasas, California, Variety reports. Jackson's neighbors include Dr. Dre, John Travolta and O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark.