Congress Nears Stimulus Deal With White House as Wall Street Suffers Rout

In a strongly worded statement, the European Union said it “disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation.” It said that it was “taking strong action to limit the spread” of the coronavirus, but that it “is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action.’’

Asked on Thursday why he had not consulted foreign leaders beforehand, Mr. Trump said, “We had to make a decision, and I didn’t want to take time.”

The administration’s approach has sown confusion at home, with conflicting messages emanating from the White House and health officials as well as from individual government agencies.

In a meeting at the White House on Thursday, Mr. Trump sought to play down the pandemic and its effects on the financial markets, saying, “It’s going to work out fine.” He insisted that, “Frankly, the testing has been going very smooth,” even as the government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was on Capitol Hill acknowledging to lawmakers that “it is a failing — I mean, let’s admit it.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/economy/coronavirus-response-wall-street.html