Subject: POLITICO's Morning Money: Trump takes on Amazon — Cam Fine defended — Judge Collyer strikes again — Inside the Trump/Ryan summit
From: Morning Money <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2016 06:27:00 -0600

By Ben White | 05/13/2016 08:24 AM EDT

TRUMP TAKES ON AMAZON - Forgive us for turning the top of this column into the "Trump Files" over the last few days. We promise it won't be forever. But it's hard to ignore some of the more outlandish stuff the presumptive GOP nominee and his campaign advisers are saying in the realm of finance and the economy. On Thursday night on Fox News' "Hannity" show, Trump went after Jeff Bezos and Amazon following reports that the Washington Post (owned by Bezos) is deploying reporters to vet every aspect of Trump's life. I mean, imagine that! A major newspaper reporting on a would-be president. The outrage! 

In any event, Trump's comments: "[The Washington Post] is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos who controls Amazon. Amazon is getting away with murder tax wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed. ... [H]e's got a huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much ... What they've done is he bought this paper for practically nothing and he's using that as a tool for political power against me and against other people and I'll tell you what, we can't let him get away with it ... .

"I just heard, they're taking these really bad stories, I mean they're wrong, I wouldn't even say bad, they're wrong and in many cases they have no proper information and they're putting them together, they're slopping them together and they're going to do a book and the book is going to be all false stuff up because the stories are so wrong and the reporters, I mean one after another. So what they're doing is - he's using that as a political instrument to try and stop antitrust" 

THE FACTS - Amazon is not "getting away with murder" on taxes. It now collects sales taxes in many states. And it has lobbied in favor of an Internet sales tax. The company does face anti-trust claims but it's under no immediate threat. But all of that hardly matters. The Post is doing what the Post has always done (see Gate, Water). As is every other serious news organization. Trump appears to think that aggressive reporting is something that needs to be stopped. This is the kind of rhetoric more associated with a former president taken down by the Post. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY - Mark Cuban at the SALT conference in Vegas: "There's that guy who'll walk into the bar and say anything to get laid. That's Donald Trump right now to a T. But it's all of us who are going to get [expletive]," Cuban said" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e997847015304eea36b28506b8b8594ee700dcbd66bd95d01

CAM FINE DEFENDED - Better Markets' Dennis Kelleher responding to Thursday's item complaining about Fine's criticism of Jamie Dimon: "The anonymous 'former senior Hill staffer' attack on ICBA Pres Cam Fine is baseless. Community banks would benefit from targeted reg relief and ending the unfair competition from Wall Street's TBTF banks. 

"He merely called out those TBTF banks for relentlessly using community banks as a Trojan Horse behind which they hide dangerous deregulation provisions for themselves, which also enable them to compete unfairly. There are easily 90 votes in the Senate today for genuine community bank relief and the only reason it hasn't passed is because of the unrelated provisions inserted for the benefit of the TBTF banks. Fine fighting this hostage taking by the TBTF banks is exactly what he should be doing." 

JUDGE COLLYER STRIKES AGAIN - A former administration official emails on the latest Obamacare ruling: "It is amazing to see the two biggest legislative accomplishments of the Obama presidency under attack from a single judge. Given Collyer's previous rulings on FSOC's designation of MetLife and insulating JPM from WaMu liabilities, it is not surprising that she has taken up conservatives' cause again. 

"As she continues to rule against major reforms, the credibility of each decision is diminished. Those who hoped the MetLife ruling was a sea change on the merits of Dodd-Frank, are instead left with a single judge on a mission. It has to hurt the chances of the decision standing on appeal. And how ironic is it that conservatives who loathe activist judges are left defending Collyer's judicial agenda." 

INSIDE THE TRUMP/RYAN SUMMIT - POLITICO's Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: "The rapprochement between the GOP's presumed standard bearer and its top elected official - assuming that's what this is - is clearly a work in progress. The two are on separate planets, ideologically and temperamentally, and one much-hyped morning summit was never going to produce some magical mindmeld. ... But now - after a get-together that was described by sources as pleasant, productive, even interesting - Trump and Ryan are waltzing toward 'unity,' or something approaching it.

"The two teams are beginning a slate of policy discussions to explore their positions on key issues. They might not find agreement on some issues, but they hope they can lock arms on broad principles that will drive the election. Ryan and Trump will meet again themselves. And House Republican Conference Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) extended an invitation for Trump to speak to the entire House GOP. Trump accepted, but a date hasn't been set" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8eb5b320ce984c71d89571751cf10dc85f804dd01af31c7d5a

TRUMP TRADE COULD SLAM THE POOR - POLITICO's Doug Palmer: "Donald Trump's plan to get tough with China, Japan and Mexico could cost the average U.S. household more than $6,000 a year if carried to its logical extreme, with the burden falling hardest on the lowest-income households, according to a new report from the National Foundation for American Policy ... 

"'We find that a Trump tariff proposal against all countries would cost U.S. consumers $459 billion annually and $2.29 trillion over five years,' David Tuerck and Paul Bachman, a pair of economists at Suffolk University in Boston, write in the report. 'Our analysis finds that the Trump tariffs would manifest themselves as a 30.5 percent increase in the price of competing domestic producer goods and therefore, as a cut in real wages." 

JOIN ME NEXT WEEK! - Hope to see you in DC next Tuesday for a Morning Money lunch event with President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Dennis Lockhart and President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, John C. Williams. Tuesday, May 17 - Doors at 12:00 p.m.; The W Hotel - 515 15th St NW. RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e1cc8dd2e24a13aeddc29b3926a4bf04f5b001567eeff1807

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING - Happy weekend everyone! Email me on [email-masked] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben 

DRIVING THE DAY - President Obama hosts Nordic leaders for a summit and state dinner ... Treasury Secretary Jack Lew speaks to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in DC ... Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) speaks at the Economic Club of New York at 7:00 a.m. ... Retail Sales at 8:30 a.m. expected to rise 0.8 percent, 0.5 percent ex-autos ... Producer Prices at 8:30 a.m. expected to rise 0.3 percent headline and 0.1 percent core ... Univ. of Mich. Consumer Sentiment at 8:30 a.m. expected to rise to 89.5 from 89.0.

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES - Zachary Warmbrodt on more than 100 House and Senate Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton, calling for more diversity at the Federal Reserve -- and to get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m. -- please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or [email-masked]. 

BIDEN WANTED WARREN FOR VEEP - POLITICO's Glenn Thrush and Annie Karni report Joe Biden was quickly sold on the populist Massachusetts senator as a running mate - and he has told associates he still thinks Warren would be Hillary Clinton's best choice to replace him. Biden liked Warren, Thrush and Karni report, because he needed a partner to capture the wave of anti-bank, anti-establishment anger raging to his left. Characteristics that might also serve Hillary Clinton well." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8ed5bc56c9754587ac7af06ad05eea8d263649a2a61464bc03

NOTHING TO LEARN FROM TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS? - WP's Glenn Kessler: "Trump in 2015 filed a financial disclosure form required of presidential candidates. The 92-page document did list assets and liabilities. But the form is not audited and may not be accurate. For instance, the Guardian newspaper reported that a Trump golf course is listed in the document as being worth $50 million - but in a lawsuit, Trump has claimed it was worth only $1.4 million.

"By contrast, a federal tax return, especially for a business mogul like Trump, is a document that is carefully checked and rechecked by accountants - and it must be accurate, under penalty of law. ... First, the tax return reveals a person's annual income. A person's net worth is not disclosed, but voters would gain an understanding of a person's cash flow. Trump is highly sensitive about suggestions that he is not as wealthy as he claims. ... Tax returns also might actually help experts make educated guesses about Trump's true net worth" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e607b7adc2812b3cd63bf6e9f19912433d3183eccef0a088f

WARREN AS HRC VP? - HuffPo's Sam Stein and Ryan Grim: "Twice this past week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has unleashed a seemingly unprompted tweetstorm on Donald Trump ... Dripping with disdain, the 140-character asides got under Trump's skin ... The more important reaction came not from Trump, however, but from Hillary Clinton's campaign. 

"Multiple sources close to the former secretary of state say that her aides took note of the senator's ability to rile the real estate tycoon. And they recognize the value of such dart throwing from, say, someone filling out a presidential ticket. One close Clinton confidant said that she and her aides were 'thrilled to see Warren get under his skin.' Another senior Clinton adviser, who is advocating internally for Warren as a vice presidential pick, said the senator has 'very influential people in the campaign pushing for her." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e78a8e0fb30b5e46164b0786d2f8f9551c0c0e9add0fb8db3

CGI AIDED CLINTON FRIENDS - WSJ's James V. Grimaldi: "The Clinton Global Initiative, which arranges donations to help solve the world's problems, set up a financial commitment that benefited a for-profit company part-owned by people with ties to the Clintons, including a current and a former Democratic official and a close friend of former President Bill Clinton. ... The $2 million commitment was placed on the agenda for a September 2010 conference of the Clinton Global Initiative at Mr. Clinton's urging, according to a document from the period and people familiar with the matter.

"Mr. Clinton also personally endorsed the company, Energy Pioneer Solutions Inc., to then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu for a federal grant that year, said people with knowledge of the endorsement. The company, whose business plan was to insulate people's homes and let them pay via their utility bills, received an $812,000 Energy Department grant. Mr. Chu, now a professor at Stanford University, said he didn't remember the conversation" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e021f8217aea55f255988f1772b87756dd3bef500b66d52eb

ANOTHER BANK HACKED - NYT's Michael Corkery: "Thieves have again found their way into what was thought to be the most secure financial messaging system in the world and stolen money from a bank. The crime appears to be part of a broad online attack on global banking. New details about a second attack involving Swift - the messaging system used by thousands of banks and companies to move money around the world - are emerging as investigators are still trying to solve the $81 million heist from the central bank of Bangladesh in February. 

"In that robbery, the attackers were able to compel the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to move money to accounts in the Philippines. The second attack involves a commercial bank, which Swift declined to identify. But in a letter Swift plans to share with its users on Friday, the messaging network warned that the two attacks bore numerous similarities and were very likely part of a 'wider and highly adaptive campaign targeting banks.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8ead4c2992107775fe67a4134f6530d63b20dd229abac7df00

APPLE TITLE AT RISK - FT's Richard Waters: "Apple is still the world's most valuable company - by the skin of its teeth. But Wall Street has been engaged for months now in a battle for supremacy that could see the iPhone maker lose the position it has held for the past four years in one of the tech industry's periodic changes of leadership. ... A renewed shiver of concern about the outlook for iPhone sales sent Apple's shares down more than 2 per cent on Thursday, to $90.32, or 32 per cent below the peak they hit almost exactly a year ago.

"The retreat left Apple's market capitalisation at $494.7bn. That was only some $300m above that of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, effectively putting the two companies neck-and-neck. Investors have been struggling since early this year with whether the rivalry between the world's biggest consumer products company and its largest internet concern should yield a clear winner. Stripping out their respective net cash positions - the truest measure of the respective value of their businesses - Alphabet surpassed Apple in January. Days later, it also briefly passed it in terms of market cap, or the value of all its outstanding shares, the more widely-followed yardstick. That was
 shortlived, however, and it is only now that Alphabet is once again vying for the lead." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e17c48fe901632b077dc47f3d76cc3b191a4eac01ea0d75d6

ALSO FOR YOUR RADAR - 

HSBC DEFIES KERRY ON IRAN - In a WSJ op-ed, HSBC chief legal officer Stuart Levey said the bank will do no new business with Iran: "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Thursday in London with a group of European financial institutions for a discussion about 'Iranian banking matters.' ... Washington is pushing non-U.S. banks to do what it is still illegal for American banks to do.

"This is a very odd position for the U.S. government to be taking. ... Our decisions will be driven by the financial-crime risks and the underlying conduct. For these reasons, HSBC has no intention of doing any new business involving Iran. Governments can lift sanctions, but the private sector is still responsible for managing its own risk and no doubt will be held accountable if it falls short" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e12ff4759afd943d8d69d681b5117c0954a9b11eeda32498e

HEDGE FUNDS LOBBY ON GSE'S - WSJ's Joe Light: "Hedge funds that have bet hundreds of millions of dollars on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's stock aren't just leaving the fate of their investment to Wall Street. They also are working K Street. A group of hedge funds, including Paulson & Co. and Perry Capital LLC, is helping to finance a lobbying campaign to lift government controls on what happens with the mortgage giants' profits. ... 

"Those funds and others bought millions of shares of the companies' preferred and common stock in hopes of cashing in as they regained their independence following a $187.5 billion taxpayer bailout. But they have been stymied by government policy that for the past four years has sent nearly all the companies' profits to the U.S. Treasury" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e363815ada5d1ae014f048d639b5b1436cf0f2115927bda58

ZUCKERBERG TO PROBE NEWS BIAS CLAIMS - FT: "Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, said the group would probe allegations that the social network has excluded conservative news stories from its trending topics section. Facebook has launched a 'full investigation' into a claim made by a former news curator that employees were instructed to omit particular stories about Mitt Romney, Rand Paul and other rightwing topics in the sidebar designed to show what is popular on the site. 

"Mr Zuckerberg said he took the report 'very seriously' but the company is yet to find any evidence that it was true. Writing in a Facebook post, he said he was inviting 'leading conservatives' and 'people from across the political spectrum' to talk with him and share their points of view. 'I want to have a direct conversation about what Facebook stands for and how we can be sure our platform stays as open as possible,' he said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=181982a657c30f8e5b2640bbff96dc4c31bb8e4590109800b3f7a4f88c52c080

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