, as several states experiencing spikes in COVID-19 cases were forced to close local businesses again to curb the spread of the disease.Critics have long argued the stock market is a poor indicator of the country’s overall economic performance, and Tuesday’s resounding stock market success juxtaposed against widespread economic despair brought that reality into stark relief.
“What’s driving the returns in the S&P 500 right now are the big tech companies. So Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon,” said Amanda Fischer, policy director for the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a research and grantmaking organization. “Obviously, the tech companies are doing well, because everyone’s working from home, and we’re ordering our groceries and our medicine online.”
“The big banks did a worse job than the small banks at getting the PPP money out,” she said, referring to the loan program established for small businesses earlier this year. She added that big banks are more accommodating to large businesses than small ones, and because Black and Latinx business owners are disproportionately based in large cities with large banks, that ― in addition to outright racism ― led to a large number of business closures in these communities.