The CBO sent shivers down the spines of deficit hawks yesterday with its latest forecast that shows federal cost overruns hitting $1 trillion for fiscal 2020, an increase of more than $100 billion from projections just 3 months ago – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
Not that there’s any definite cause-and-effect at play here, but still worth noting that the White House has reportedly jettisoned plans for payroll and capital-gains tax cuts that it had been kicking around for the past few days and weeks – WSJ and MarketWatch
Newly released Fed July meeting minutes show a central bank “sharply divided” over the ultimate decision to cut rates for the first time in a decade, with members split between wanting a greater-than-quarter-point hike and wanting to hold rates steady. Most, however, agreed that the cut they made was a “recalibration” rather than a start of a broader easing cycle – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
On Wednesday, the Labor Department revised down job-growth numbers from 2018 and early 2019 by a full half million, a change that “hit consumer-oriented industries particularly hard,” with hiring in leisure and hospitality over the past year and change “significantly weaker than believed” – NYTimes and Bloomberg
A recent article exposing Wells Fargo’s practice of continuing to charge customers overdraft fees on accounts they believed were closed has piqued the interest of Senator Elizabeth Warren and could mean another uncomfortable day for a Wells Fargo CEO before Warren and others on the Senate Banking Committee – NYTimes and Law360
Germany unveiled an unprecedented 30-year bond with negative yields this week, the latest sign that “investors desperate for safe assets” think that further yield dives “will boost the value of the bonds in the future” – WSJ
Months of demonstrations and unrest in Hong Kong has prompted Alibaba to delay its planned multibillion dollar IPO there, though it’s promised to revisit the decision before the end of the year. The move raises intriguing questions about whether China’s interest in social control will beat out its economic priorities – WSJ
By a narrow 3-2 margin, the SEC voted this week to urge proxy advisers “to take more steps to disclose how they craft their shareholder recommendations,” a win for public companies who have long battled the “impact of consultants who influence shareholder votes on topics such as executive pay” – WSJ and Law360
The DOJ came out hard yesterday against bids by two former Platinum Partners execs to overturn their convictions “for defrauding bondholders in one of the defunct hedge fund’s oil and gas portfolio companies,” calling the duo’s arguments “inflammatory baseless allegations” – Law360
Regular readers will know that Daily Dose HQ is buzzing this morning because it’s opening day at the Great Minnesota Get Together, the official summer swan song here in the North. To help get those of you not from around here in the mood, enjoy this timely guide to Fair-only food and drink pairings aimed at enhancing your gastronomic experience – StarTribune
