US/Washington/POLITICS "this section I like call the hooker updates" $UUP

US/Washington/POLITICS

·         Financial regulatory reform package won’t be unveiled this week as Senators have yet to reach an agreement on key points; among the most contentious involves where to house the new Consumer Protection Agency and how much power to give the new body.  Hope remains alive however that Dodd can produce a passable piece of legislation.  Politico/CNBC.  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33956.html  

·         Fed update – a bunch of Fed officials this week have voiced concern about the “extended period” language; pressure could be building inside the Fed about dropping this language.  Fed’s Bullard was the latest - "I'm a little worried that the extended period language is conveying too much of a particular date to markets about ... interest rates,".  Reuters 

·         Obama’s energy strategy comes under fire from all sides; the president is facing criticism over the decision to drop plans to build a nuclear-waste vault in Nevada, for the decision to use the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions, and also for plans to build a wind-energy project that used in part Chinese turbines.  WSJ    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704187204575101741972210942.html#mod=todays_us_page_one  

·         Jobs creation – the House late on Thurs passed a $15B jobs creation package; the measure now goes back to the Senate for final approval.  Some businesses say the tax package is underwhelming and won’t do a lot to actually boost hiring.  WSJ  

·         Jobs - Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted Thursday that the Senate would pass a one-year extension of unemployment and other benefits measures by early next week.  Roll Call. 

·         Senators push for a bonus tax – Sens Boxer and Webb are pushing for a vote on a measure that would levy a 1x tax on bonuses paid to execs at firms that received sig. infusions of taxpayer cash – WSJ      

·         Bank fees - New chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Sander Levin said imposing a fee on financial firms is “worth considering” and that he intends to press his proposal to boost taxes on executives at private equity firms.  Bloomberg

·         Bank fees – the proposed $90B bank liability fee would be passed onto consumers according to the CBO; the CBO would have a “small” effect on the companies and would be shouldered by customers, investors and employees – Bloomberg 

·         Health Care timing - Robert Gibbs, told reporters Thursday that the president expected the House to complete its work by March 18, when Mr. Obama is to leave for Australia and Indonesia. But the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other Congressional leaders outlined steps that would make it difficult to meet that timetable (NYT)

·         Health Care - Kathleen Sebelius convened insurance executives at the White House on Thurs and pressed them to release actuarial data justifying their rate increases.  NYT 

·         Fed officials fight to maintain powers - officials at the Federal Reserve have mounted a highly public effort to maintain, and perhaps even expand, the central bank’s regulatory powers.  NYT