Stocks are set to open sharply lower this morning after the markets appeared unhappy with a lack of government action to address the current and expected fallout from the pandemic.

On top of that, a U.S. central bank official estimated that the unemployment rate could surge from just over 3% to 30% at its peak as businesses shutter in an effort to clamp down on the spread of the deadly illness.

Americans will have an additional three months to file their Taxes according to the US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin.  All taxpayers and businesses will have to now file and pay their taxes by July 15th without interest or penalties.  The White House had announced previously they were deferring tax payments for 90 days, but that Americans would still need to file by April 15.   Some states have also extended their deadlines.  Oregon is still deciding whether or not to move our date to July.

The New York Stock Exchange is going all-electronic starting today, marking the first time that the centuries-old exchange will operate in regular hours without its legion of trusted flesh-and-blood floor traders.  Over the last 228 years, the NYSE has never operated without a group of traders functioning as the anchor to the U.S.’s biggest trading platform.  The change was scheduled to happen long before the current market environment hit.

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management I’m Tyler Simones