US President-elect Joe Biden's economic team, announced this week, comprises a diverse group of seasoned professionals who are likely to pursue activist and expansionary economic policies, which is exactly what the American economy needs. The most important appointment is that of Dr Janet Yellen as the Treasury Secretary-designate. If confirmed, she will have the distinction of being the first woman to hold that position and the first individual to have also served as the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.

Dr Yellen has lost no time in calling for urgent economic action to prevent a self-reinforcing downturn, which will cause "more devastation". Forecast to contract by about 4 per cent this year, the US economy is facing a spiralling Covid-19 pandemic that threatens to deepen its recession.