Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to move fast to pass a second package of support measures, warning them that major parts of the economy are already shut down. He said that the objection is to have legislation through Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on Monday. The package announced by the Senate includes tax rebates of $1,200 to individuals targeted at those earning under $99,000 and $208 billion of loans for companies suffering from the outbreak. (Bloomberg)

In a week-over-week comparison, Verizon streaming demand increased 12%, web traffic climbed 20%, VPN jumped 30% and gaming skyrocketed 75%. "We're always built for being prepared for different types of changes in the network," CEO Hans Vestberg declared. "In less than a week, we have transformed this company dramatically." While U.S. carriers have suspended data caps, there are fears about bandwidth usage over in Europe. Netflix and YouTube are tapping the breaks on their download speeds there, reducing bit rates for 30 days. (VZ)

Ford has suspended its dividend and drawn down $15.4bn from two credit lines to boost its balance sheet, as the coronavirus pandemic forces it to shut plants in North America and Europe.  It is the largest draw down any company has made because of the pandemic, according to a Financial Times analysis of public disclosures. The $15.4bn is meant to offset the cost of the shutdown, which begins today and will last until at least March 30.  Ford is borrowing from some of the world’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citi.  (FT)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.