The surge in U.S. coronavirus cases has made business owners "nervous again," Atlanta Federal Reserve president Raphael Bostic said on Tuesday, and has prompted him to focus on company decisions over the next three to six weeks.
"We are hearing it more and more as we get more data. People are getting nervous again. Business leaders are getting worried. Consumers are getting worried. And there is a real sense this might go on longer than we have planned for," Bostic said in webcast remarks to the Tennessee Business Roundtable.
In surveys and conversations with managers in his southern district, where several states are facing a renewed health crisis, Bostic said he is asking "what are their plans for the next three weeks, six weeks, how are they thinking about staffing decisions.".
(Reporting by Howard Schneider Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) ((howard.schneider@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 789 8010;))
