Mike & Co., In the wake of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia last week, which earned the campaign a substantial bump in the polls as the general election phase formally begins, the first major economic policy report card — an assessment and comparison of the candidates’ proposals — has been published. Last Friday, Moody’s Analytics released a …
Mike & Co., Last night, Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination with a lengthy speech largely devoid of economic policy. Beyond paltry mentions of reducing and simplifying taxes for everyone, reducing the cost of excessive regulation, and tearing up every trade deal in sight, Trump presented no clear-cut or comprehensive plan or even a broad …
Mike & Co., In a couple of hours, when Donald Trump takes the stage in Cleveland in a couple of hours to accept the GOP presidential nomination, it’s a good bet he won’t say much about his tax plan. With good reason: he doesn’t have one. Yesterday, Trump’s campaign announced that the candidate is preparing a …
Mike & Co., Yesterday, the 2016 Republican Platform was approved at the RNC in Cleveland. As expected, the document’s language on economic policy reflects positions taken by Donald Trump. Mostly. But the Party surprisingly endorsed a reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. This is an unforeseen stance, following years of disinterest in Glass-Steagall by the GOP. Below …
GOP Platform Counterprogramming Glass-Steagall (July 19) Read More »
Mike &. Co., Congress adjourned for its annual August recess two weeks earlier than usual because of the convention schedule. Congress’ stalled appropriations process is a rather unwelcome state of fiscal affairs, as both the White House and the Congressional Budget Office released projections on the budget this week, with the latter estimating that long-term …
Mike & Co. — This past weekend in Orlando, the Democratic Platform Committee advanced a final draft of the party’s 2016 official platform, to be ratified at the upcoming Convention in Philadelphia. The platform has been described by many as about as progressive and precedent-setting in several areas as any in recent history. In this …
DNC Platform — Econ.& Financial Policy (July 12) Read More »
Mike & Co., Last week, tersely-worded letters from prominent Senators brought the SEC back into focus. Issues with the SEC’s proposed regulations have been raised before by Sens. Warren and Brown, who have gone so far as to challenge Chair White’s leadership abilities and intentions. Issues at the SEC are further complicated by the continued vacancies of two seats on the five-member …
Mike & Co., Late last night, the House passed the Financial Services and General Government Act, a $21.7 billion FY17 appropriations measure. The House considered dozens of amendments Wednesday and Thursday, several of which would make sweeping changes to DFA and financial regulation generally. It is hard to say if any of these provisions would make it into the Senate bill or be added …
The House Financial Services FY17 Approps. Bill (July 8) Read More »
Mike & Co., Last week, Sens. Warner and Warren, along with Rep. Elijah Cummings, announced the Derivatives Oversight and Taxpayer Protection Act (S. 3188, H.R. 5592), , a bill to strengthen the CFTC’s power to regulate derivatives transactions and increase the agency’s budget by changing the source of its appropriations. Yesterday, the bill’s three sponsors followed up …
The Warner-Warren Derivatives Reform Bill (July 6) Read More »
Mike & Co. — Late this afternoon, the Federal Reserve announced the results of its second round of stress tests – the CCAR. These tests authorize the banks that pass them to move forward with their plans to raise dividend payments or buy back stock. Earlier in the day, the FSOC announced that GE Capital will be the …
