Spending Deal Today?
"[C]ongressional negotiators on Sunday reported progress" says NYT: "Top aides said the measure could finally be made public on Monday ... An added complication is a major tax bill that other members of Congress are negotiating. Democrats have become increasingly unhappy about the size and shape of the tax bill."
Question whether Speaker Paul Ryan can keep his caucus unified. TPM: "This may be the week when observers will finally see whether Ryan -- when pushed up against a real deadline -- can seamlessly do what Boehner always struggled with: secure the support or at the very least the respect of the House Freedom Caucus types who ultimately ended Boehner's speakership."
Dem Divide On Paris Agreement
Clinton, Sanders divide on Paris climate agreement. CNN: "Clinton ... hailed the agreement in a statement, saying, 'I applaud President Obama, Secretary Kerry and our negotiating team for helping deliver a new, ambitious international climate agreement in Paris.' ... Sanders, however, said ... 'The planet is in crisis. We need bold action in the very near future and this does not provide that,'..."
Secretary of State Kerry defends. The Hill: "Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday brushed off suggestions that a sweeping global climate deal announced this weekend lacks enforceability and won't curb emissions. [He said] that the mandatory reporting requirement every five years 'is a serious form of enforcement and compliance.' He said that there aren’t any penalties or sanctions in the deal for nations that don’t comply because the U.S. Congress, among other nations, would never accept them."
Deal could influence investors and industries. NYT: "It will spur banks and investment funds to shift their loan and stock portfolios from coal and oilto the growing industries of renewable energy ... Utilities themselves will have to reduce their reliance on coal ... Energy and technology companies will be pushed to make breakthroughs to make better and cheaper batteries ... automakers will have to develop electric cars that win broader acceptance..."
Obama's climate legacy hinges on courts, successor. Politico: "The reliance on presidential authorities means that while Obama can take much of the credit for the agreement, its ultimate success is in the hands of the next administration ... egulations are now at the mercy of the courts, which will decide over the coming years whether the president overstepped his authority ..."
Breakfast Sides
Fed may raise interest rates Wednesday, despite lack of inflation. WSJ: "Jobs are on track, but inflation isn’t behaving as predicted and they don’t know why. Unemployment has fallen to 5%, a figure close to estimates of full employment, while inflation remains stuck at less than 1%, well below the Fed’s 2% target. Central bank officials predict inflation will approach their target in 2016. The trouble is they have made the same prediction for the past four years. If the Fed is again fooled, it may find it raised rates too soon, risking recession."
Banks will have to submit, and follow, plans to avoid need for bailouts. Bloomberg: "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ... is planning to propose a requirement that lenders with more than $50 billion in assets to provide blueprints for how they’ll withstand a crisis ... [For] the first time many of the largest regional firms would have to submit formal survival strategies ... The OCC plans would be backed by the teeth of enforcement, so banks could face penalties if they consistently fall short of the new requirements."
Kochs woo the poor. Politico: "The outreach includes everything from turkey giveaways, GED training and English-language instruction for Hispanic immigrants to community holiday meals and healthy living classes for predominantly African American groups to vocational training and couponing classes for the under-employed ... The efforts include a healthy dose of proselytizing about free enterprise and how it can do more than government to lift people out of poverty."
Donald Trump's favorite CEO, Carl Icahn, backs repatriation in NYT oped: "...the Schumer-Portman framework for 'international tax reform' has a bipartisan consensus now and would stop inversions by permanently fixing this country’s antiquated double tax on foreign earnings. Without this reform, this incremental tax revenue is money this country will never receive..."
