| | | | | |  | | By Ben White and Aubree Eliza Weaver | Presented by Harry's | Editor's Note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services' morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | Stimulus stuck as U.S. sinks deeper into Covid — Well, here we go yet again. Congress remains suck on a coronavirus relief bill pretty much where they've been stuck for months, over liability and state and local government assistance. (Meanwhile, much of California is shutting down again as the virus rages, more on which below.) Per our Marianne Levine: "As a bipartisan group of lawmakers races to unveil a $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal … Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over how to resolve their differences on a key sticking point: liability reform. "Emerging from a closed-door meeting … senators said that they have yet to reach a solution on the matter, but they exchanged competing proposals. The senators are expected to meet again Tuesday." More problems — Some in the GOP are not too happy the current stimulus package doesn't include direct payments, via our Burgess Everett : "Sen. Josh Hawley is not happy that the leading coronavirus proposals lack another round of direct payments to Americans — and he's taking his case straight to President Donald Trump. "The Missouri Republican lobbied Trump to veto any coronavirus aid bill that does not contain a second tranche of checks to Americans … And Hawley said the president listened intently as he flew home on Air Force One from a rally in Georgia." The risks keep rising — Via a Wells Fargo report out this a.m.: "57% of small business owners say 'businesses like theirs' won't fully recover from the effects of the pandemic until the second half of 2021 or later … 62% say the same for the national economy overall … One quarter of small business owners have discontinued or reduced acceptance of in-person cash or check" Asia dips — Via Reuters : "Asian stocks came under pressure on Tuesday as investors struggled to balance hopes for more economic stimulus and vaccines with fresh concerns about a surge in COVID-19 infections. "Mixed Asian trade followed a similarly mixed Wall Street session in which the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high while the two other major U.S. indices fell. European markets are also likely to struggle for firm direction with London's FTSE down 0.3% and Eurostoxx 50 futures and those of Germany's DAX flat." GOOD TUESDAY MORNING — Somewhat amazingly, the Washington Football Playing Human Persons defeated the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers. In Pittsburgh! (Sorry, Tony.) Anyway, it was exciting for a lifelong DC football junkie like MM! Email me on bwhite@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben . Email Aubree Eliza Weaver on aweaver@politico.com and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver. | | | | A message from Harry's: Introducing Harry's new, sharper blades: From past experience with other brands, we've grown used to razor innovations often leading to higher price tags. Not this time around. Men's grooming startup Harry's just came out with their sharpest blades ever—without raising prices, breaking the traditional pattern of upcharging used by many razor companies. Learn more about Harry's new, sharper blades and how you can give them a try, 100% risk-free. | | | | | | HAPPENING TODAY: ABA EVENT — Per release: "FBI Director Chris Wray, FinCEN Director Ken Blanco and ABA President & CEO Rob Nichols are among the speakers at our virtual Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference starting" today. GET BULLISH ON 2021? — Via Citi Private Bank: "The global economy will recover more quickly and robustly from the COVID recession than after a more typical large downturn. The virus was an exogenous shock, whose effects were far more unevenly spread than in other crises. "Parts of the global economy were largely spared and some benefited mightily. Governments are providing the necessary fuel to support the recovery. Employment and spending will rebound faster as a result." WELL MAYBE NOT SO FAST … CALIFORNIA SHUTTING DOWN AGAIN — Want to know why sunny outlooks like the one above strike MM as … unlikely? Because of stories like this via LA Times' Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II and Sean Greene: "For millions of Californians, the COVID-19 pandemic will provide a most unwelcome gift this Christmas: a wide-ranging shutdown imposed as the state grapples with its most massive and dangerous surge in infections and hospitalizations to date. "Monday provided even more devastating news: More than 20,000 cumulative deaths and more than 34,000 new coronavirus cases …. That shatters the previous single-day record, set Friday, when 22,369 coronavirus cases were tallied. … The stay-at-home restrictions that took hold at 11:59 p.m. Sunday across Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley will remain in place for at least three weeks." BIDEN MAKES HIS PENTAGON PICK — Our Lara Seligman, Tyler Pager, Connor O'Brien, and Natasha Bertrand scoop: "President-elect Joe Biden … selected Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense … If confirmed, Austin would be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon. "In picking Austin, Biden has chosen a barrier-breaking former four-star officer who was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and the first to oversee an entire theater of operations. Austin's announcement could come as soon as Tuesday morning, people familiar with the plans said Monday." KUDLOW PRAISES YELLEN — Our Zachary Warmbrodt: "Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow … applauded … Biden's nomination of Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury Department — breaking with other Trump administration officials who have not even acknowledged that Biden won the election. "Kudlow offered the surprising praise for Yellen during a live interview with The Washington Post, during which the National Economic Council director also revealed that he has started sending congratulatory notes to some early Biden appointees." ESG GOES MAINSTREAM — Our Lorraine Woellert: "Mutual fund managers … called on companies to improve reporting on environmental, social and governance factors affecting their business operations and bottom lines. "The move by the Investment Company Institute brings the pressure of millions of retail investors to bear on corporate reporting. The trade group represents the mutual fund industry, which manages more than $34 trillion in assets … The ICI announcement isn't an endorsement of ESG investing, but it's a sign that the goal of seeking financial returns based on sustainability metrics has gone mainstream." | | | |   | | | | | | NASDAQ CLOSES AT RECORD HIGH — Reuters' Chuck Mikolajczak: "The Nasdaq closed at a record high on Monday after investors moved into mega-cap growth stocks even as a new round of Covid-19 restrictions underscored the continuing economic impact of the pandemic on the United States. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced to close at a record, as several of its largest constituents, including Apple and Facebook Inc, rose. Still, a decline in names such as Alphabet and Microsoft kept major averages in check." SURVEY: BUSINESS ECONOMISTS SEE FULL RECOVERY BY END OF 2021 — AP's Stan Choe: "The U.S. economy's growth is likely slowing as 2020 comes to a close, but a growing number of economists expect it to claw back to its pre-pandemic strength by the second half of next year as vaccines for the coronavirus become widely distributed. "That's the view from the latest survey of the National Association for Business Economics. It found that 73 percent of surveyed forecasters say the economy will return to its pre-pandemic level by late 2021. That reflects greater optimism than the forecasters had expressed a couple months ago, when just 38 percent of them said they thought a full recovery could occur before 2022." WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM TO HOLD 2021 GATHERING IN SINGAPORE — Bloomberg's Bryce Baschuk: "The World Economic Forum will hold its 2021 annual meeting in Singapore instead of its traditional home of Switzerland, which is battling a high number of coronavirus infections. "The annual meeting will be held in Singapore May 13 to 16 and return to Davos-Klosters, Switzerland in 2022, the World Economic Forum said. The meeting will also include a virtual component to allow greater participation, according to Singapore's Ministry of Industry and Trade." AS HIS TERM ENDS, TRUMP FACES MORE QUESTIONS ON PAYMENTS TO HIS HOTEL — NYT's Eric Lipton: "It was a month before Donald J. Trump's inauguration, and one of his aides had a delicate question: Wasn't there going to be a backlash when it became known that the inauguration had spent donors' money at Mr. Trump's hotel in Washington, even though other places would cost much less or even be free? … "As Mr. Trump's presidency comes to a close, expenditures like those are receiving renewed legal scrutiny in the form of a civil case being pursued by the attorney general for the District of Columbia. At the heart of the case is a question — whether Mr. Trump and his family have profited from his public role, sometimes at the expense of taxpayers" | | | | THIS WEEK - DON'T MISS #MIHealthSummit: POLITICO will feature a special edition Future Pulse newsletter at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit this week. Go inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators determined to confront and conquer the most transformative health challenges. The pandemic exposed weaknesses across our health systems, particularly in treating our most vulnerable communities. This year's conference focuses on the converging crises of public health, economic insecurity, and social justice. Sign up today for exclusive coverage from December 7–9. | | | | | FED'S DERBY: IS A LARGER BALANCE SHEET NEEDED? — WSJ's Michael S. Derby: "If the Federal Reserve wants to get inflation to meet its target, the central bank's already historically large balance sheet may need to get much bigger at some point. "Speaking with reporters Friday, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans addressed why the Fed has failed to sustainably achieve a 2 percent annual rise in inflation since adopting that goal in 2012. This failure drove the central bank to overhaul its policy-making regime and say it will now explicitly allow inflation to overshoot 2 percent. CHINA'S FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE STARTING TO PRICE IN DELEVERAGING — Bloomberg's Tian Chen and Tom Hancock: "China is bucking the global trend of greater economic stimulus amid the coronavirus, preferring instead to refocus on controlling its record debt burden. "Policy makers are allowing for tighter liquidity in the financial system, a signal that Beijing wants to stabilize the level of debt in the economy. Though not as aggressive as previous deleveraging drives, the shift is pushing up market rates: government-bond yields trade near an 18-month high and interbank borrowing costs last month jumped to the highest since January. China's big banks have been unwilling to lend to smaller financial firms after a string of defaults at some of the country's safest borrowers." CREDIT CARD BALANCES FALL, BUT OVERALL BORROWING RISES — AP's Christopher Rugaber: "U.S. consumers took out more auto and student loans in October, but cut back on credit card borrowing, a sign that they remain cautious about spending amid a spike in virus cases. The Federal Reserve said Monday that consumer borrowing rose 2.1 percent in October to $4.16 trillion, pushed higher by a 4.8 percent jump in a category mostly made up of student and auto loans. Credit card borrowing fell 6.7 percent." | | | | A message from Harry's: Harry's just came out with its sharpest blades ever. But what do sharper blades mean for you? Well, guys who shave four times a week say that, with Harry's new blades, their eighth shave is as smooth as their first. And yet, Harry's didn't raise prices—not even a little. Harry's new, sharper blades are (still) just $2 each for an 8-pack. But you don't have to take our word for it. Snag a Trial Set and decide for yourself. (And remember: if you don't love your shave, just let them know and get a full refund. That's their 100% Quality Guarantee at harrys.com). | | | | | | SARBANES REMEMBERED — Via Brookings' Aaron Klein: "I worked for Senator Sarbanes for 6 years (his last term) first as staff economist then Chief Economist on Banking. He was the most brilliant, kind soul I ever knew. "He had a deep moral compass that public service was a privilege to be used to benefit life for those without privilege. Helping people was the goal. Policy was the means. Politics was the game, two steps removed from the goal." TRANSITIONS … The Majority Group added Dan Archer as a principal. He was previously a longtime in-house lobbyist for Wells Fargo and is also a former aide to former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). | | | | JOIN WEDNESDAY - BATTLING INFORMATION CHAOS IN A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: The extraordinary pace which scientists, doctors, epidemiologists, and hospital staff are working to fully understand the coronavirus can sometimes lead to the wrong information getting published and more accurate information being buried. Join POLITICO for a virtual deep-dive conversation on strategies for improving the flow of accurate and timely findings during a public health crisis. Tune in and hear the executive conversation between POLITICO CEO Patrick Steel and Surescripts CEO Tom Skelton. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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