White House considers pumping cash into distressed parts of US economy

The White House wants to provide a targeted financial stimulus to areas of the economy that need it, economic adviser Larry Kudlow says.

The administration is weighing a “timely and targeted micro approach,” the director of the Trump administration's National Economic Council, told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on Friday. The money could go toward helping people stranded at home who may lose pay as well as small businesses in specified geographical areas and certain industries impacted by the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

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He added that the Trump administation is "not looking at big, expensive macro cash rebates, helicopter money from the sky" because "that never works."

Kudlow says his concern is that commodities, such as gold and and oil, are flashing deflationary signals, but that the White House doesn't want to act prematurely because today's jobs report shows the U.S. economy is "in very good shape."

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Employment data released just hours before Kudlow's comments showed American employers adding 273,000 workers in February while the jobless rate shrank to 3.5 percent. Kudlow also noted the Atlanta Fed is forecasting 2.6 percent growth for the first quarter, which would be an improvement from the fourth-quarter reading of 2.1 percent.