| | | | | |  | | By Ben White | Presented by The Great Courses Plus | 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. | | | Welcome to Fed Day — The Federal Reserve issues its last policy statement of the year this afternoon followed by a press conference by Chair Jay Powell. The central bank action will come as Congressional negotiators CONTINUE to squabble over providing more Covid-19 relief just nine days before Christmas and as millions of Americans struggle with joblessness and thousands of small businesses face imminent failure before vaccines can widely circulate. If you think it's insane that we are at this moment, that's because it is . The need is obvious. The ability for Congress and the outgoing White House to provide it is obvious. And yet we are once again stuck in the usual year-end scramble to maybe add Covid relief to the omnibus spending bill. It may well happen. There were hopeful signs overnight. The "four corners" leaders are finally talking. But the window for a fresh relief bill to alleviate suffering and bolster the economy has long since passed. Anything that passes now will just limit some of the damage between now and late spring or early summer. Congress has failed here. No matter what happens the next few days. Via our Heather Caygle and Burgess Everett: "Top lawmakers are vowing to keep Congress in session until they pass a coronavirus relief deal, the strongest signal yet that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be on the verge of breaking the months-long stimulus stalemate. "There were small but tangible signs of movement on Tuesday after Pelosi and McConnell along with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met for more than two hours over the course of two meetings with plans to possibly convene a third time. The Fed can't save us — Powell will almost certainly plead once again during his press conference for more fiscal support. And the central bank may take some action to try and support markets and the economy. But especially with some of its tools taken away by Treasury, the Fed is ill-suited at the moment to directly assist Americans and bridge the gap until Covid-19 is conquered. Mizuho's Steven Ricchiuto and Alex Pelle : "We expect the Fed to keep its asset purchases unchanged … but perhaps add some additional forward guidance on the program. Pantheon's Ian Shepherdson: "In the absence of hints from senior Fed officials that a major change to the QE program is imminent, we would be surprised today if the Fed increases the pace of purchases from the current $80B per month. "But we think the Fed is likely to announce an extension of the weighted average duration of its purchases. This is a close call—no better than 60/40—but the case for making the change is strong." GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING — Email be on bwhite@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. | | | | A message from The Great Courses Plus: Don't be stagnant, keep your mind active with The Great Courses Plus . Learn at your own pace with the ability to stream lectures like the Art of Investing anytime, anywhere. Tap into an expansive selection of over 13,000 video streaming lectures from some of the world's greatest minds. Learning should be enjoyable, so start learning today with The Great Courses Plus! | | | | | | FOMC announcement at 2:00 p.m. No change in rates but perhaps some tweaks to the quantitative easing program. Powell press conference at 2:30 p.m.. Expect Powell to be measured as usual but emphasize significant downside risks to the economic outlook for 2021 without major fiscal stimulus. … Senate Banking subcommittee has a remote hearing at 9:30 a.m. on "US-China: Winning the Economic Competition, Part II" … LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME EARNERS GET NERVOUS — Via new Morning Consult data out this a.m.: "Low and middle-income consumers' confidence is increasingly volatile, with growing pay and income losses as stimulus talks continue. Absent a second relief bill, 66% of unemployment insurance recipients will lose their benefits at the end of the year." MODERNA VACCINE HEADS FOR APPROVAL — Via Reuters: "Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine appeared set for regulatory authorization this week after U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff endorsed it as safe and effective in documents released Tuesday. "The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 300,000 people in the U.S. and the government is counting on the Moderna shot to help fulfill its promise to inoculate 20 million this month. An FDA decision on whether to issue a so-called emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine will be made after a panel of outside advisers meets Thursday. The FDA typically follows the advice of the panel, but is not required to do so." | | | | TODAY - TALKING TRANSITION WITH SENATOR CASEY: From Janet Yellen to Antony Blinken to Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden is building his Cabinet. What can we infer from Biden's nominations so far? Which of his nominees will face the toughest confirmation obstacles in the Senate? Are progressives satisfied with his choices? Join POLITICO for our first Transition Playbook: Live edition featuring Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who will break it all down. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | STOCKS POP AGAIN ON STIMULUS HOPES — WSJ's Joe Wallace and Caitlin McCabe: "U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday as investors welcomed signs of progress in negotiations over an economic relief package in Washington. The S&P 500 rose 47.13 points, or 1.3%, to 3694.62, snapping a four-session losing streak, the index's longest stretch of losses since late September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 337.76 points, or 1.1%, to 30199.31. "And the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 155.02 points, or 1.2%, to 12595.06—a new all-time-high that marks the index's 51st record close of the year. Enthusiasm that U.S. lawmakers may be closer to a stimulus deal helped lift stocks, which have largely swung between small gains and losses since finishing November with blockbuster gains." WALL STREET AND REALD WORLD GAP GROWS — Mohamed A. El-Erian in the FT: "Throughout this pandemic year, we have experienced a further sharp widening of an already remarkable gap between financial markets and the economy. A rapid recovery in asset prices from the March 23 lows took major US indices to record levels, even before the recent good news on Covid-19 vaccines. "Combined with even more accommodative central bank policies, this enabled record debt issuance at historically low levels of compensation for creditors. Meanwhile, the global economic situation remains uncertain. Another coronavirus wave is sending parts of Europe back into recession. That is sapping energy out of the US recovery" | | | | A message from The Great Courses Plus:   | | | | | | McCARTHY TO LEAD BIDEN CLIMATE EFFORTS — Our Alex Guillén and Tyler Pager: "President-elect Joe Biden will name former EPA head Gina McCarthy as his domestic climate policy chief, placing one of the architects of Barack Obama's climate regulatory efforts at the helm of his strategy to put the country on a path to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions … "McCarthy, who will lead a new White House office of domestic climate policy, served as EPA's air chief in Obama's first term and as EPA administrator in his second. While there, she oversaw development of a suite of climate regulations — targeting greenhouse gases from cars and trucks, power plants, oil and gas producers and even landfills — that have been dismantled under the Trump administration." BIDEN-TRUMP BATTLE HINDERS VACCINE EFFORTS — Our Anita Kumar, Alice Miranda Ollstein, and Meridith McGraw: "Donald Trump wants credit for a pandemic-defeating vaccine, but is aggrieved Joe Biden won't give it to him. Biden wants help promoting the vaccine to wary Americans, but isn't expected to ask Trump to assist. "The result is that even though the country's two most high-profile leaders both claim to want the same thing — enough vaccinations to eradicate the pandemic — hyperpartisan divisions are preventing them from helping each other achieve that goal." | | | | LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST, SPONSORED BY CHEVRON: Check out our daily five-minute brief for the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. For must-know stories and candid insights to analysis from POLITICO's 10-person energy team, don't miss out. Subscribe for free and start listening today. | | | | | STATE PLAN FRESH GOOGLE LAWSUIT — Our Leah Nylen: "A coalition of states is finishing an antitrust lawsuit against Google focused on its power in the online search market that could be filed as soon as Thursday, two people close to the probe said. "The complaint — led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a Republican — is expected to allege that Google has altered the designs of its search engine to the disadvantage of rivals that offer specialized search results, two other people close to the investigation said." GRANHOLM TO RUN ENERGY DEPARTMENT — Our Tyler Pager and Zack Colman: "Biden will pick former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to run the Energy Department, the agency that would play a key role in helping develop the technologies needed to fulfill his pledge to move the country off fossil fuels … "Granholm, who served two terms as Michigan's governor, is experienced in dealing with the auto industry — a potentially big advantage as the new president seeks to speed the rollout of electric vehicles and the network of charging stations needed to power them." MAYOR PETE FOR TRANSPORTATION — Our Tyler Pager and Sam Mintz: "Biden will nominate former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to be Transportation secretary … Buttigieg's ascension to the top spot at DOT marks the culmination of a meteoric rise in politics over the last two years from the mayor of South Bend, Ind., to the first openly gay Cabinet member, if he is confirmed. "But Buttigieg landing a spot comes as a surprise given his thin transportation policy resume.
Buttigieg, 38, wanted to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations, a position that went to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and he was also considered for Commerce secretary. But Buttigieg has a limited political future in his home state of Indiana, and Buttigieg supporters were hopeful Biden would give the mayor a high-profile spot to gain more experience and bolster his big political ambitions" TRANSITIONS — Via Talking Biz News: "Natasha Solo-Lyons is becoming a full-time junior reporter at Business Insider covering wealth and real estate. She previously has been an editorial fellow." … Javier Gamboa is leaving the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, where he served as professional staff, and is joining the Business Roundtable as senior director for government relations. | | | | A message from The Great Courses Plus: Are you an inquisitively curious individual that loves learning? Join a community of life-long learners, and learn more about any topic with The Great Courses Plus. Stream thousands of videos by some of this world's brightest minds. From the Art of Investing to the Theory of Everything, quench your thirst for knowledge with courses designed for the endlessly curious cat. With The Great Courses Plus, you'll enjoy being able to learn anytime, anywhere at your own pace. Now there's nothing keeping you from starting your educational journey. Learn now with The Great Courses Plus! | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment