Your Evening Briefing
Your Evening Briefing
The 2017 tax overhaul pushed through by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed by President Donald Trump is hurtling the budget deficit toward $1 trillion territory (the national debt is $22.5 trillion). The law largely rewarded the wealthy and corporations, many of which plowed their winnings into stock buybacks. Now, with economists predicting a 35% chance of recession in the next year, the White House is considering indexing capital gains, a move to circumvent a now divided Congress that would, like the tax bill, make the rich richer. It may also trigger litigation. Now, Trump is denying even considering the change.
Here are today’s top stories
Wall Street isn’t sure the Fed will sharply cut rates. Minutes from a central bank meeting revealed that, while prepared to cut again if conditions worsen, it didn’t view a July cut as part of an extended cycle.
Brexit is weeks away, but there is still talk of a deal to keep the sun from suddenly setting on the U.K.’s relationship with the European Union.
The world’s first 30-year bond featuring zero income struggled to find buyers, prompting Germany to admit the sale may have been “too large.”
Rural America helped put Trump in the White House, but farmers have been suffering in his trade war. Now, after some controversial crop estimates, things are getting nasty, with one official receiving a threat.
A $1 billion effort by Boeing and Raytheon to build a “kill vehicle” to shoot down missiles from North Korea or Iran was cancelled by the Pentagon because of difficulties making it work. Meanwhile, the threat grows.
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh may have gotten his seat thanks in part to Susan Collins, but it looks like the Maine Republican might pay for it, and a few other things, with her own.
What’s Lorcan Roche Kelly thinking of? The Bloomberg cross-asset reporter said stimulus is on everyone’s lips as the world economy seems at greater risk of recession than it has been in years. Tax cuts, rate cuts, quantitative easing—everyone wants more of the same. But the solution may simply be something big: say, ending the trade war for example.
What you’ll need to know tomorrow
- China arrested an employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong.
- Amazon just opened its biggest campus yet, and it’s in India.
- Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant faces a cloud domination threat.
- Google DeepMind’s co-founder was mysteriously placed on leave.
- JPMorgan beats another retreat, this time from your digital wallet.
- It’s the one banking job robots can’t perform, at least not yet.
- Climate change is really hot in Texas.
What you’ll want to read tonight in Pursuits
Top chefs have picked their favorite ice cream. What’s the first thing you think of when someone says ice cream? Some people envision a cone piled high with scoops, dripping dangerously down their hands. Others conjure up an ice cream parlor sundae, crowned with hot fudge and whipped cream. Still others will head to a museum, where they can take 1,000 selfies in a pool full of sprinkles.
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