On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 10% on Thursday in its biggest drop since 1987. Airlines and cruise companies have been particularly hard hit. Major international cruise lines, including Princess Cruises and Viking, have suspended operations. President Trump’s ban on Europeans flying into the United States from 26 European countries goes into effect tonight at midnight.
The stock market losses came despite the Federal Reserve injecting about $1.5 trillion into the financial system in an effort to prop up the markets. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted, “Total student loan debt: $1.7 trillion. Total cost of the Fed’s short-term bank funding: $1.5 trillion. America has socialism for the rich, harsh capitalism for everyone else.” Rev. William Barber of the Poor People’s Campaign tweeted, “Overnight they found $1.5 trillion for Wall St, but they can’t find money to provide healthcare & living wages for 140 mil poor & low wealth people in America.”