Recessions and depressions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, July 17, 2020. Leaders from 27 European Union nations meet face-to-face on Friday for the first time since February, despite the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic, to assess an overall budget and recovery package spread over seven years estimated at some 1.75 trillion to 1.85 trillion euros. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via AP)

Henry Montalvo, 30, is shown Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Phoenix. Montalvo was furloughed in March and his federal unemployment benefit expires later this month. (AP Photo/Matt York)

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 14, 2019 file photo a Bank of America logo is attached to the exterior of the Bank of America Financial Center building, in Boston. Consumer banking giant Bank of America saw its profits drop by more than half in the second quarter, the bank reported Thursday, July 16, 2020, as the bank set aside billions of dollars to cover potentially bad loans caused by the pandemic. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - In this June 10, 2020 file photo, a woman walks past a store with sale signs displayed at Great Lakes Mall, in Mentor, Ohio. The Federal Reserve says economic activity has picked up in most regions of the country but still remains well below pre-pandemic levels with the country facing high levels of uncertainty. The Fed reported Wednesday, July 15 that its latest survey of economic conditions around the country found improvements in consumer spending and other areas but said the gains were from very low levels seen when widespread lockdowns push the country into a deep recession. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

FILE- In this Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 file photo, robots work on an electric car ID.3 body at the assembly line during a press tour at the plant of the German manufacturer Volkswagen AG (VW) in Zwickau, Germany. The coronavirus has cancelled business plans all over the world but Europe's push into electric cars isn't one of them. Sales of battery-powered and hybrid cars have held up despite a deeply painful recession, mainly thanks to the action of governments. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, file)

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Wednesday as investors were encouraged by news that an experimental COVID-19 vaccine under development by Moderna and the U.S. National Institutes of Health revved up people’s immune systems just as desired. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

FILE - In this Thursday, May 7, 2020 file photo, a construction worker passes a sign thanking the NHS in London, as the country in is lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The British economy grew by far less than anticipated during May, dampening hopes that the recovery from what is set to be one of the country’s deepest recessions in centuries will be rapid. The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday, July 14, 2020, that the economy grew by 1.8% in May from the previous month after some easing of the lockdown, such as encouraging those in construction or manufacturing to return to work. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

A man wearing a face mask walks past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong, Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Asian shares fell Tuesday as skepticism set in about the recent upbeat mood on global markets, as newly confirmed coronavirus cases rose in the U.S., Brazil and parts of Japan. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles as he addresses delegates during the final day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. After months of insisting that the Republican National Convention go off as scheduled despite the coronavirus pandemic, Trump is slowly coming to accept that the event will not be the four-night informercial for his re-election that he had anticipated. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - In this July 9, 2020, file photo Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden adjusts his mask during a tour of McGregor Industries, a metal fabricating facility in Dunmore, Pa. Biden is pledging to define his presidency by a sweeping economic agenda beyond anything Americans have seen since the Great Depression and the industrial mobilization for World War II. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)