First Mover: Why the Fed Cares About Remote Working

What the economy needs right now is for U.S. lawmakers to pass a fiscal stimulus package because ostensibly that money can go directly to people and businesses that need it most.

"We're not going back to the same economy. We're recovering to a different economy."

The coronavirus will have a lasting and scarring impact on the economy, but remote working might be another massive factor to consider for monetary policy.

The economy is in upheaval, and not just because people aren't eating out or going to movies or traveling for leisure, or because so many businesses and households would be ailing right now without all the emergency aid.

If workers genuinely enjoy the remote setup, and many do, and employers are genuinely seeing just how productive their employees can be working remotely, and it costs a lot of time and money to commute, and it's easier on many working parents to set up base at home, why would there ever be a return to the old office-based civilization?

Even many people who think bankers take advantage of their enshrined role in the economy will acknowledge that banks play an essential role in the existing financial infrastructure.

Dave Hendler, principal and founder at the bank analysis firm Viola Risk Advisors, says one implication is that the hand of governments and central banks could be heavy in the economy for a long time.

As soon as more investors start to focus on it, the remote-working economy will probably demand a lot more attention - and possibly a lot more money.

The big market debate now is if and when bitcoin returns to the record high price of around $20,000 reached in December 2017.George McDonaugh, managing director and co-founder of the publicly traded cryptocurrency investment firm KR1, wrote Friday in emailed comments that he doesn't expect bitcoin holders to sell until prices reach a new record, "Given the comparatively small delta between $16,000 and $20,000."

As noted last week by First Mover, bitcoin has spent so little time above $16,000 in its 11-year history that analysts eyeing price-chart patterns for clues have little to work with.