Avie Schneider

Updated at 5:36 p.m. ET

Hank Paulson says the world and America are "facing a health and economic crisis unlike anything in our modern history."

Paulson knows a thing or two about a financial crisis. In 2008, as Treasury secretary, he helped steer the United States out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Updated at 10:38 a.m. ET

The number of new people claiming unemployment benefits totaled a staggering 6.648 million last week — doubling the record set a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday.

In the prior week, ending March 21, a revised 3.307 million initial claims were filed.

In just two weeks, nearly all of the jobs gained in the last five years have been lost.

Updated at 4:07 p.m. ET

The stock market has never seen a month like March. The Dow notched losses and gains of 1,000 points to as many as 3,000 points in a day in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic toll.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has recovered from recent lows, but it's still down nearly 14% this month.

And the blue chip index is 26% below its recent peak in February. At its low on March 23, it was down a staggering 38% from the record high.

Citing the coronavirus pandemic's "heavy toll" on its business, Macy's said it's furloughing the majority of its nearly 130,000 employees. Workers will continue to receive health benefits through May.

"Across Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Bluemercury [beauty] brands, we will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations," the retailer said Monday.

Orange juice is suddenly hot.

In the commodity markets, frozen concentrate orange juice futures have soared 25% — just in the past month. (Yes, you're thinking of the comedy Trading Places.)

Updated at 4:17 p.m. ET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2,112.98 points, a record for a single day, as negotiations continued over a massive stimulus package to help the crippled economy deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow gained nearly 11.4%, the most since 1933.

Updated at 4:10 p.m. ET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other U.S. stock indexes fell again Monday as central bankers and lawmakers struggled to deal with the coronavirus pandemic's economic damage.

The Dow closed the day down 582 points, or 3%. The S&P 500 index fell 2.9% and the Nasdaq slipped about 0.3%. The Dow has plunged 37% from its February high.

Updated at 5:52 p.m. ET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 913 points, leaving the index 2.8% lower than when President Trump took office. Friday's drop culminated a staggering week of losses as the coronavirus impact took an economic toll.

The Dow closed down nearly 4.6% Friday, and the S&P 500 index fell 4.3%. The Nasdaq dropped nearly 3.8%.

Updated at 4:05 p.m. ET

U.S. stock indexes finished up Thursday as investors tried to absorb the latest financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded, rising 188 points — about 1% — to 20,087. The S&P 500 index gained nearly 0.5% and the Nasdaq surged 2.3%.

Updated at 10:13 a.m. ET

New claims for unemployment benefits climbed to 281,000 last week as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and left people out of work, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the highest level since Sept. 2, 2017, when they totaled 299,000.

Updated at 5:13 p.m. ET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more 1,334 points, or 6.3%, Wednesday after President Trump announced new emergency steps to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, including suspending foreclosures and evictions until the end of April.

The Dow had been down more than 2,000 points earlier in the day, but later recovered some of its losses.

Updated at 4:05 p.m. ET

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged Tuesday, a day after its stunning record plunge, as the White House and Federal Reserve unveiled massive stimulus measures to help the economy deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow closed up 1,049 points, or 5.2%. The S&P 500 index gained nearly 6%.

Updated at 4:21 p.m. ET

U.S. stock indexes fell sharply Monday, a day after the Federal Reserve aggressively cut interest rates to near zero in a bid to stop the economy from crashing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,997.20 points, or about 13%, as coronavirus measures rapidly expanded. The S&P 500 index lost nearly 12%.

The Dow, which closed at 20,188.52, has lost 31.7% since its record high Feb. 12 as the market plunges deeper into bear territory after an 11-year winning streak.

Updated at 5 a.m. ET on Monday

European shares dropped more than 8% on Monday, led by losses in Italy and France, the two countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic that has girdled the globe in recent weeks, infecting tens of thousands of people, severing supply chains and slowing commerce as people are forced to stay home.

In early trading, Italy's FTSE MIB, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX were all down more than 8%, with London's FTSE 100 just behind, dropping more than 7%.