In This Issue:

Leading the Past Week; Legislative Branch; Executive Branch; International; and Upcoming Hearings.

Excerpt from Leading the Past Week

European leaders continued to endeavor to find a solution to their economic malaise, while much of the rest of the continent tried to distract themselves with a somewhat different struggle. Perhaps some divine intervention can be interpreted by German?s victory over Greece in a European Cup 2012 quarter-final match (though soccer purists were certainly hold otherwise), and during the past week it certainly looked as if Germany and Angela Merkel were holding firm in their demands during the recent G20 summit. The eyes of the world will continue to focus on Europe with next week?s European Council Summit, though some US thought leaders are beginning to indicate that the fortunes of the two continents may not be as tied together as originally believed. Also this past week, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon appeared before the House Financial Services Committee and excellently handled a barrage of questions from both sides of the aisle. Ironically, while Dimon was forced to spend a good portion of his appearance talking about whether he believed Dodd Frank codified “too big to fail,” it was the very imprimatur of the government backing of his bank that Moody?s said was as justification for JP Morgan?s modest downgrade in a move that saw the ratings agency downgrade 15 global banks. Finally, the Fed announced it was extending Operation Twist in an effort to spur on the flagging recovery.