Happy Wednesday and welcome back to On The Money, where we hope you got some sleep last night. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL—Wall Street adjusts to election uncertainty, lack of blue wave: Markets rose Wednesday as Wall Street began recalibrating amid election uncertainty and after an expected blue wave failed to materialize.
Traders found reason for optimism with an electoral landscape that favors a Joe Biden presidency and a divided Congress.
- At market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 368 points, or 1.3 percent; the S&P 500 climbed 74 points, or 2.2 percent; and the NASDAQ jumped 430 points, or 3.9 percent.
- Though key Senate and White House races have yet to be called, the prospect of Democrats defeating President Trump but with Republicans retaining control of the Senate augurs well for markets in several ways, analysts said.
“I think pretty much all financial markets view Trump as a destabilizing force, both domestically and globally, so removing a destabilizing force is a positive,” said Dan Alpert, managing partner of investment firm Westwood Capital.
“All of Trump’s rhetoric about how high the markets are because he’s president, the market is going to crash if he loses, blows up in the face of what’s happening today,” Alpert added, citing Wall Street’s gains.
The Hill’s Niv Elis and I break it down here.
LEADING THE DAY
McConnell says he wants coronavirus deal by end of year: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that he wants a deal on a fifth coronavirus relief bill by the end of the year as coronavirus cases are spiking across the country.
McConnell, speaking to reporters in Kentucky, outlined a busy end-of-year agenda that will include attempts to get another stimulus deal, a large spending deal by the Dec. 11 deadline to fund the government and more judges confirmed — a top priority for the GOP leader.
“We need another rescue package. The Senate goes back in session next Monday. … I think we need to do it and I think we need to do it before the end of the year,” McConnell said when asked about another coronavirus relief deal.
“I think that’s job one when we get back,” McConnell said.
The Hill’s Jordain Carney has more here.
Increased urgency: McConnell previously told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who asked about a 2021 legislative agenda if the GOP kept control of the Senate, that he believed a coronavirus deal is “something we’ll need to do right at the beginning of the year.”
- Negotiations on another relief bill, largely led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have failed to get an agreement amid steep political and policy differences including the price tag, liability protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits and more help for state and local governments.
- Senate Republicans have largely lined up behind an approximately $500 billion package, significantly smaller than the roughly $2 trillion price tag being discussed by the White House and congressional Democrats.
“I think now that the election is over, the need is there and we need to sit down and work this out. State and local could end up being a part of it,” McConnell said.
Bid to avoid shutdown: In addition to a stimulus deal, McConnell said he and Pelosi both want a full-year spending deal for the 12 government funding bills instead of a short-term continuing resolution (CR).
“The Speaker and I agree that we ought to do an omnibus appropriations bill and do it in December, no matter who wins the election. It’s a basic function of government that we haven’t handled very well in recent years,” McConnell said.
Jobs growth slowed to 365,000 in October: ADP: The U.S. economy added just 365,000 jobs in October, according to the latest monthly estimate from ADP, well below economists’ expectations and the surge earlier in the summer.
Economists interviewed by Dow Jones had expected 600,000 new jobs last month, according to CNBC.
“The labor market continues to add jobs, yet at a slower pace,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president of the ADP Research Institute. “Although the pace is slower, we’ve seen employment gains across all industries and sizes.”
While the 365,000 new jobs would normally represent a banner month, the steep decline in growth while the economy remains in a deep hole from the COVID-19 pandemic raises questions as to the speed of the recovery. Niv Elis breaks it down here.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Illinois voters have rejected a ballot measure to allow the state to have a graduated income tax, a move that would have made the state’s tax code more progressive.
- Florida voters on Tuesday approved a ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 over the next six years.
- The U.S. trade deficit dropped 4.7 percent in September after reaching its highest level since 2006 just a month earlier, according to data from the Census Bureau.
ODDS AND ENDS
- Voters in six states and the District of Columbia approved measures that will broaden the availability of previously illicit drugs for recreational or medical use on Tuesday in an across-the-board win for legalization advocates.
- T-Mobile will pay a $200 million fine to the government to settle a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigation into the company’s subsidiary Sprint failing to comply with FCC rules about a program for low-income consumers, the agency said Wednesday.