WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2020) Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence discussed the economy on a call with some top US investors as the administration plans to reopen by Easter the lockdowns imposed on most parts of the country by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CNBC reported on Tuesday.
The call with leading Wall Street investors and hedge fund leaders was less focused on potential actions the administration could take to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus, and more about how the business icons viewed the markets and the economy, the report quoted sources familiar with the conversation as saying.
Investors on the call included Third Point's Dan Loeb, Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, Vista Equity's Robert Smith, Intercontinental Exchange's Jeffrey Sprecher and Paul Tudor Jones, hedge fund manager and co-founder of JUST Capital, the report said.
Earlier on Tuesday, on a virtual town hall on the FOX network, Trump said he would love to have the United States opened up and just raring to go by Easter in 19 days.
The World Health Organization has cautioned that the United States might become the next epicenter of the COVID-19, with media reporting more than 49,000 US infections and 600 deaths from the outbreak.
But Trump and White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow have repeatedly stressed the need to nurse the economy back to health, as much as the people of the United States.
Trump tweeted on Tuesday that Americans want to return to work while practicing social distancing and other measures and the seniors will be protected. The US president warned that a cure can not be� worse than the problem and urged Congress to act now.
Kudlow, appearing on Fox Business Network interview, said that a bad economy, if it continues and continues to decline, is unhealthy by itself.
Media reported that 16 of the 50 US states will be on lockdown by Thursday.
