The $349 billion federal relief fund for small businesses in the United States during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is expected be depleted Wednesday, Bloomberg reports.
The Small Business Administration reported that nearly 1.4 million applications on a first-come first-served basis for the government-guaranteed loans (which convert to grants if proceeds are used to keep workers on payroll and cover rent for about two months) have been approved, but that means about $301 billion has already been used up and many businesses will still be waiting in line when the last $48 billion runs out. The whole thing took just 13 days.
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