OVERNIGHT FINANCE: GDP report out Thursday
TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: The Commerce Department will release its revised estimate of first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Economists are predicting the report will show that growth shrank by 0.5 percent. Originally, the government said first quarter GDP grew by 0.1 percent.
{mosads}Two quick points:
1.) This will be the first GDP quarterly shrinkage since early 2011. While some Fed officials have blamed the winter weather as hindering growth, others cite lackluster housing reports.
2.) Don’t expect Wall Street to freak out. Jim O’Sullivan, chief economist for High Frequency Economics, tells OVERNIGHT FINANCE:
“Most people agree that weakness was exaggerated by the weather and more recent monthly data are signaling a rebound in Q2 — so I would not expect the report to cause much concern.”
THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, where we’re always concerned. Tweet: @kevcirilli. Email: kcirilli@digital-stage.thehill.com. Happy hump day. Back to work…
TOMORROW: TAX BREAKS WAYS AND MEANS MARK-UP. Ways and Means will consider six separate tax breaks tomorrow, part of the debate surrounding the 50 provisions that expired in 2013 dubbed “tax extenders.”
—The Hill’s Bernie Becker gives us his snapshot: “[One of the tax provisions is] for business write-offs called bonus depreciation. Given the early chatter, and recent history, Democrats could easily balk at the permanent extension of bonus depreciation, and its $287 billion price tag.
“For Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and other GOP tax writers seeking permanent extensions of expired tax breaks, Thursday’s mark-up gives them a chance to intensify the pressure on the Senate to act on their own tax extenders package.
“But as of yet, Senate Democrats don’t have much interest in what Camp’s offering.”
TONIGHT: VA HILL HEARING IN PRIME TIME. At 7:30 p.m. tonight, the House Veterans Affairs Committee will host a hearing on the VA scandal, as a number of Democrats joined Republicans in calling for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign: http://bit.ly/1kou2ZJ.
FIRST LOOK – GOV. SAM BROWNBACK TO RECHARGE IN D.C. Bad month for Brownback, but he’s looking to turn it around tomorrow in an economic speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Once touted as a GOP 2016 dark horse candidate, he’s been wrangled in controversy. Reports last month said FBI officials were investigating whether associates of his illegally solicited campaign contributions. That was followed by Moody’s downgrading the state’s bond rating. Plus, polls show he faces a competitive race against Democratic challenger state Rep. Paul Davis.
The former Senator, though, is headed back to Washington to reset and recharge…
“Personal income has increased across the state, from $124,137 Million in 2012 to $127,092 million in 2013,” Brownback will say, according to prepared remarks. “Kansas is leading a Midwest renaissance. Moving forward, inclusiveness, innovative and transformative goals and policies will be the traits of our economic policy.” RSVP: http://herit.ag/1o1Xze6.
Will Kansans buy it back home? We’ll find out in November…
WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT: Brian Williams’ exclusive interview with Edward Snowden airs tonight on NBC.
COSTLY COFFEE: A Starbucks customer used his loyalty card to get a free Sexagintuple Vanilla Bean Mocha Frappuccino, a concoction made with 60 shots of espresso that cost $54.75, via USA Today.
NOTABLE: BANKS SLIDE CITING HOUSING CONCERNS. “Bank earnings fell 7.6 percent during the first three months of the year, hampered by falling mortgage and trading revenue.
“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) said Wednesday that the banking industry reported $37.2 billion in net income during the January-March quarter, down from $40.3 billion in the same period of 2013.
—FDIC CHAIRMAN MARTIN GRUENBERG: “Industry revenue has been affected by narrow margins, modest loan growth and a decline in non-interest income as higher interest rates have reduced mortgage-related activity and trading income fell.” Vicki Needham reports for The Hill: http://bit.ly/1ko4wUs.
QUOTABLE: MAYA ANGELOU’S BUSINESS ADVICE: The American author and poet passed away today at 86. Here’s her May 2013 interview with Alison Beard for The Harvard Business Review.
AB: Both [your mother] and your grandmother ran businesses. What did they teach you about good management?
MA: “That it’s wise to be fair, and it’s unwise to lie. That doesn’t mean tell everything you know. Just make sure that what you do say is the truth. There are people who say I’m brutally frank, but one doesn’t have to be brutal; one can tell the truth in such a way that the listener really welcomes it.” http://bit.ly/1lRdBBs
HAPPENING NOW – Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner chats about his book “Stress Test” with his predecessor Henry Paulson in Chicago. Watch live at 7 p.m. ET: http://bit.ly/1k1pmK2.
ON-TAP FOR TOMORROW: Incoming Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester and outgoing President Sandra Pianalto speak at an event in Cleveland at 8:30 a.m. … National Association of Realtors releases its monthly Pending Home Sales Index report at 10 a.m. … Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George speaks at Stanford at 9:30 p.m.
DELAYED: HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES CFPB MARK-UP. The House Financial Services Committee has postponed its mark-up that was scheduled tomorrow on a handful of GOP-backed bills due to the passing of Ranking Member Maxine Waters’ (D-Calif.) mother. No new date has been scheduled.
ON THE BOOKS: NEW GLOBAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS. For 10 years, global firms have pressed for coordinated global standards to make it easier to compare economic data. Today, they got their wish. Huw Jones reports for Reuters:
“The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) which writes book-keeping rules in the United States, and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), whose rules are used in over 100 countries spanning Europe, Asia and parts of the Americas, have taken years to thrash out the common approach.
“The IASB’s current rule lacks detail on when revenue should be booked — when a sale is agreed or when payment is made — while critics say the U.S. rule is too prescriptive…
“The reform is part of an effort by the two standard setters to align their rules to make capital markets more efficient, as called for by leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) economies.” http://reut.rs/1jtJezx
CYBER WATCH – W.H. PREACHES DATA SHARING. The White House’s senior official on cyber security said Wednesday that companies should worry more about being sued for not sharing data threat information.
Companies have resisted sharing information about threats for fear it could expose them to antitrust lawsuits. But White House official Ari Schwartz said at a Washington forum this morning their real concern should be lawsuits over not sharing the information.
—KEY-QUOTE: “We always talk about the liability concerns about sharing the information — I’m starting to hear a lot more about the liabilities for companies for not sharing.” My story: http://bit.ly/1nuNZRJ
DELAYED – BORZI BACKS OFF FIDUCIARY PROPOSAL. No surprise here, the Department of Labor has pushed back when it’ll release its controversial new proposed fiduciary regulations for financial advisers until January 2015, according to its regulatory agenda published last week.
The original timeline was this August, but bipartisan opposition has forced a delay. The delay is a huge blow for Phyllis Borzi, DOL’s assistant secretary for employee benefits security. This is her second attempt at a new fiduciary proposal, which she says is needed to protect consumers and is her “No. 1 regulatory priority.”
However, the fiduciary fight has stalled since Labor Secretary Thomas Perez was confirmed last summer. Borzi’s critics say that her regulations will end up hurting the same people she’s trying to help by limiting their access to financial advise.
Kent Mason, an attorney with Davis & Harman and a Borzi critic, tells OVERNIGHT FINANCE: “Secretary Perez has previously indicated that at his request the process has been slowed down so that he can review the re-proposal.”
—More fiduciary fallout from The Hill’s Pete Schroeder: http://bit.ly/SftGt4.
MORE FROM THE HILL’s FINANCE TEAM:
—IMF’s Lagarde: Banks need a culture overhaul: http://bit.ly/1ouiBSU.
—Warren, Merkley: Put finance watchdogs on the Fed: http://bit.ly/TV1BZq
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