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Why the stock market is up while the economy is struggling : The Indicator from Planet Money The stock market has recovered more than half the ground lost when it crashed nearly 34 percent starting in late February. But the economy hasn't recovered. Why is there such a stark disconnect?

The Indicator from Planet Money

Stocks Are Up But The Economy's Down

Stocks Are Up But The Economy's Down

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Meric Greenbaum, Designated Market Maker IMC financial looks up at the board before the opening bell right before trading halted on the New York Stock Exchange on March 9, 2020 in New York. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
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TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
Meric Greenbaum, Designated Market Maker IMC financial looks up at the board before the opening bell right before trading halted on the New York Stock Exchange on March 9, 2020 in New York. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

When the coronavirus pandemic started forcing the U.S. economy to shut down in late February, the stock market tanked for the next month. By late March, it was down 34 percent. Since then, the stock market has been in recovery: it has rebounded in a big way, so that now it's down just 13 percent from where it was in February before the recession started.

But the economy is not rebounding. Millions of workers keep losing their jobs each week, and hundreds of thousands of businesses have closed.

What on Earth is going on?

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