In an effort to mitigate and contain any economic shock from the coronavirus, the Fed may need to turn to and update its crisis-era playbook. On Monday, March 9, in order to keep short-term funding operating, the Fed scrapped its long-term plans to gradually limit the size of short-term lending operations and boosted them instead. While the downturn could be mild, as business activity is expected to return as the infection peaks, the Fed is taking no chances, as potential cracks in business debt markets raise the risk of, “a sharp tightening of financial conditions that feeds back into the real economy.”

Read more via the Wall Street Journal.