BREAKING: 215K New Jobs in July
Bureau of Labor Statistics releases monthly jobs report: "Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 215,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent ... The civilian labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.6 percent ... average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents to $24.99..."
Fed may raise rates based on jobs report. WSJ: "That is likely enough to satisfy the Fed’s view that the job market is producing solid gains ... Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart told The Wall Street Journal in an interview earlier this week that he will be inclined to raise short-term U.S. interest rates in September unless he sees evidence that convinces him the economy is off track."
McConnell Tries To Shut Down Shutdown Talk
Sen. McConnell won't shut down government over Planned Parenthood. Politico quotes: "“We’ve been down this path before. This is a tactic that’s been tried going back to the ’90s, frequently by Republican majorities that always have the same ending: that the focus is on the fact that the government is shut down, not on what the underlying issue that is being protested is.”
And "McConnell rules out linking highway bill to overseas tax reform." The Hill quotes: "“Two separate issues. There’s been a lot of focus on going to a territorial system [for taxing foreign profits]. I might well be enthusiastic about that, but I view it as a totally separate track unrelated to the highway issue.”
Democratic Sen. Tom Carper introduces gas tax hike. The Hill: " Carper's bill would increase the gas tax by 4 cents per year for the next four years, resulting in a 16-cents-per-gallon increase by 2020. The legislation would offer tax credits to offset the impact of the gas tax hikes on driver..."
Hillary May Go Big On Student Loan Reform
"Hillary Clinton readies student loan reform rollout" reports Politico: "...Hillary Clinton on Monday will roll out what is expected to be the most detailed and costly plank of her campaign ... Clinton is expected to unveil a federal-state partnership to increase funding for public colleges and universities ... reducing tuition overall ... Clinton is also expected to announce a proposal aimed at easing the financial burden for students who attend historically black colleges ..."
Nearly 4 million already benefiting from Obama initiative to relieve student debt load. Bloomberg: "...3.8 million Americans who’ve qualified for federal programs that tie payments to income and eventually forgive debt for some struggling borrowers ... Income-based repayment was introduced under President Clinton, but the programs weren’t heavily promoted until late 2013 ... The number of people using these plans has quadrupled..."
Sanders and O'Malley court Iowa union leaders. Bloomberg: "[They] earned raucous applause with a mix of red meat rhetoric and commitments to expand Social Security, oppose the TPP trade deal, and fight for a $15 minimum wage ... 'I will not have Larry Summers or Robert Rubin in my inner circle as an economic advisor,' a high-energy O’Malley declared..."
MoveOn.org slams Sen. Schumer after he opposes Iran deal. The Hill: "'Our country doesn’t need another Joe Lieberman in the Senate, and it certainly doesn’t need him as Democratic leader,' MoveOn political action executive director Ilya Sheyman said in a statement about Schumer, who is next to line to be the Senate’s top Democrat."
