Early in the year, U.S. financial institutions started reassessing the way they loaned money; some investors began backing away from providing additional funds to several start-ups, and then consumer spending stalled. Everything was made much worse when reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy forcefully. The economic crisis, which was triggered by the health crisis, brought the issue of troubled debt to the forefront, as the size, scope and vulnerability of a wide range of indebted institutions became clear. Bankruptcies hit some companies, ratings agencies altered debt ratings and international debtors turned to world institutions for help. Fear over the risks of a collapsed economy brought the U.S. Federal Reserve into play, and it, essentially, told the financial world that it would deploy limitless amounts of cash to stabilize markets. While the Fed has had a steadying effect on equities markets, what could the Fed do to stabilize the economy or to make companies increase their productivity, profitability, capital spending and hiring? More critically, what can the Fed ever do to adjust the increasingly dislocated distribution of money? We pose more questions at the end of this Briefing.