Loretta Mester is President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
- says this is the worst and speediest deterioration in the labor market many of us have ever seen
- says second quarter will show the most severe effects on the economy
- baseline outlook is for economy to begin to grow again in 2nd half as some stay-at-home restrictions lifted
- says more pessimistic scenario with surge in new coronavirus cases requiring more shutdowns is almost as likely as baseline
- further direct fiscal support is needed to avoid longer-lasting damage to the economy
- there has been improvement in market functioning since fed launched emergency lending facilities
- she expects inflation to remain low for remainder of year and some time to come
