Mike & Co. — Here at the end of a quiet recess, the dust is still settling following the D.C. Federal District Court ruling against the FSOC on Wednesday in the MetLife case, with regulators and businesses speculating about the case’s ultimate disposition, scope, and the implications for TBTF designations going forward. From a systemic risk perspective, …
Mike & Co. — Practically without warning, a U.S. District Court Judge in Washington issued a ruling this morning that would impose the greatest limitation to the scope of Dodd-Frank in the law’s five-year history. MetLife had challenged the authority of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to designate the firm a SIFI (systemically …
Mike & Co. – This week, far from spring recess in Washington, California Gov. Jerry Brown struck a deal with Democratic legislative and union leaders on a new state minimum wage hike plan. The plan, mandating a minimum wage offer $15/hour by 2022, is one of the largest states economic policy experiments in recent years. While …
Mike & Co. – The revolving door between Manhattan and Washington may be a subject of some import for those reasons this. It’s also the subject of legislation supported by HRC that delineates a way to engage the best and brightest in government service without creating a tacit quid pro quo or the appearance (or …
Tax Update/Upcoming Compensation Issues (Mar. 24) Read More »
Mike & Co. – In a stark departure from political history since Reagan and Goldwater, the Republican Party this year has struggled to come up with a unified tax message. Perhaps more odd, still, are the abrupt change in tone surrounding the tax debate, from the traditionally robustly pronounced to a muted, tentative, and confused …
Mike & Co. – Last week, legislators in both the House and the Senate proposed regulation in the political intelligence industry to increase the transparency of the relationship between Wall Street and Washington. In an election where campaign finance and Wall Street issues have been salient themes, the bill and the candidates’ positions on it could turn out to be …
Mike & Co. – Now that Senate Banking Chair Richard Shelby has beaten back his primary challenge, there are signs of life on the Committee. The first nominations to get votes in over a year have cleared and there is talk once again of a Shelby 2.0 financial regulatory package. Meanwhile, the House has …
Mike & Co. — If voters are uncertain and uneasy about the state of and short-term prospects for the economy, they are in good company. Surveying the indicators, the Federal Reserve voted yesterday to recalibrate before resuming its planned rate increases. Its announcement reduced from four to two the number of such increases it …
Mike & Co. — House and Senate leaders are pursuing different legislative strategies as Congress continues to make progress on a fiscal year 2017 budget for the U.S. government. One chamber is processing down the good governance path of regular order, with Appropriations subcommittee hearings by the dozens already held and a date certain for …
Mike & Co. — Yesterday, House Ways and Means chair Kevin Brady released a “budget savings package designed to cut taxes.” Brady’s gambit reflects the growing buyers remorse regarding the omnibus agreement within the Freedom Caucus. Hard liners have objected to the spending levels set in the Obama-Boehner deal; this package is meant to buy …
