Subject: POLITICO's Morning Money: Fed presidents Lockhart, Williams rip Trump comments — Fed speak weighs on markets — Trump vows to kill Dodd-Frank — White House launches income efforts
From: Morning Money <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 18 May 2016 06:04:39 -0600

By Ben White | 05/18/2016 08:00 AM EDT

LOCKHART/WILLIAMS RIP TRUMP COMMENTS - OK, so Fed Presidents Dennis Lockhart of Atlanta and John C. Williams of San Francisco would not directly attack Donald Trump in my interview with them Tuesday. The Fed doesn't engage in politics, after all, at least not overtly. But they did both take serious issue with Trump's remarks that the U.S. could never default because the Fed can just "print money." 

Lockhart: "Forty-five years ago I began my career as an international banker and was taught, virtually from day one, that if you are assessing a country, looking at country risk, and that country has a central bank that's under political influence, and is printing money, or is expanding the monetary base under the influence of incumbent politicians, that is bad news, and you reduce your exposure to that country."

Williams: "Well, we know that monetizing the debt, or any of those other things, leads to super high inflation, which has not only big - not only is damaging because the high inflation affects the economic growth, but it harms the lowest-income people in society too. So it's one of the worst - you know, one of the worst kind of outcomes you can have. 

"High or hyper-inflation is not only damaging to your long-run growth but it really harms everybody in the economy and very unfairly to the people who least can afford it. So this is obviously something I care deeply about, and as Dennis said, something we've learned from international experience that we can't do." 

Both Lockhart and Williams also suggested markets should not discount the possibility of a rate hike in June. 

Lockhart: "Well, I think it certainly could be a meeting in which action can be taken. All meetings are live. I think it's a little early, in looking at second-quarter data, to draw a conclusion. So I'm, at this stage, sort of inconclusive on how I'm going to be thinking about June, but I wouldn't take it off the table ... 

"I don't rule it out. The way I think of Brexit is it's a consideration, and the key thing is to try to map whatever seems to be developing back to the real economy in the United States and ultimately back to our objectives. ... [W]e'll have to make some judgment as to whether it has the potential to feed back into the U.S. economy in a meaningful way. And, if the assessment is probably not, then I see no reason why it gets in the way of a real serious discussion in June.

Williams: "First of all, I think the U.S. economy is doing great. Growth looks like it's going to be another good year, about 2 percent growth like last year. So I think the incoming data have actually been quite good and reassuring in terms of policy decision. So my view is that June is a live meeting." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec58b311a767812c2dfcde635d606a19c3b3eada0c2ff0f8c5c

FED SPEAK WEIGHS ON MARKETS - Reuters: "Asian shares weakened on Wednesday in the wake of accelerating U.S. inflation and comments from Federal Reserve officials that rekindled prospects of an interest rate rise as early as June. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, seen as a policy centrist on the board, said on Tuesday that he still assumes there will be two to three rate hikes, a view echoed by San Francisco Fed President John Williams" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec5dacc06dc624c50c3ce1fd2d57b8723c8128e0da57aaf9cba

TRUMP VOWS TO KILL DODD-FRANK - In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he would seek "close to a dismantling" of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law: "Dodd-Frank is a very negative force, which has developed a very bad name." This will certainly resonate with Wall Street Republicans wary of Trump but desperate for a GOP president who would seek big changes to the law. 

But it's a bit strange coming from a populist who has successfully tapped in to American anger at powerful interests including Wall Street banks. Presumably, Trump will cast Dodd-Frank as bad for the economy and will promise some other ways to wrest power from the financial industry. But his attacks on Dodd-Frank are not going to help him woo Bernie Sanders voters. 

Better Markets' Dennis Kelleher: "Donald Trump's promise to dismantle the Dodd-Frank financial reform law is irresponsible and a gift to Wall Street's biggest banks. ... The Dodd-Frank financial reform law is what protects Main Street from having to bailout Wall Street again. Dismantling it guarantees more crashes, more bailouts and more economic suffering for American families."

In the same interview, Trump backed off recent comments in which he said he would probably get rid of Fed Chair Janet Yellen: "I'm not a person that thinks Janet Yellen is doing a bad job. I happen to be a low-interest rate person, unless inflation rears its ugly head, which can happen at some point." ... 

Trump also said he had filed a new financial disclosure form with the Office of Government Ethics that he said would show an income "in excess of $557 million" and a net worth over $10 billion. These disclosure forums, however, are notoriously opaque and include huge ranges. They are not an alternative to tax returns, which Trump still has not released. 

WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES INCOME EFFORTS - POLITICO's Marianne LeVine: "The White House revealed details Tuesday of its most sweeping action to fight income inequality since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act ... And unlike Obamacare, it will require no input from Congress. The measure is a Labor Department regulation that will increase by more than four million the number of workers who qualify for overtime pay whenever they work more than 40 hours in any given week. 

"At a time of stagnating wages - amid a tepid economic recovery that has yet to lift household income above where it stood 16 years ago - the rule will allow Obama to raise wages without increasing the minimum wage. ... The Obama administration estimates the rule will raise wages by $12 billion over the next decade, making it the federal government's most dramatic intervention in the wage economy since at least 2007, when George W. Bush signed into law the last minimum wage increase" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec5bf5503c35ffb715b7046234d86c0e83fc808cf9ed9a970d1

MARTIN WOLF NOT MINCING WORDS - Martin Wolf in the FT: "Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate for president. He might even become president of the US. It is hard to exaggerate the significance and danger of this development. The US was the bastion of democracy and freedom in the 20th century. If it elected Mr Trump, a man with fascistic attitudes to people and power, the world would be transformed.

"Mr Trump is a misogynist, a racist and a xenophobe. He glories in his own ignorance and inconsistency. Truth is whatever he finds convenient. His policy ideas are ludicrous, where they are not horrifying. Yet his attitudes and ideas are less disturbing than his character: he is a narcissist, bully and spreader of conspiracy theories. It is frightening to consider how such a man would use the powers at the disposal of the president" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec5155b9067881273c6d2fac9c9e171b338f1ee1b00155ff11b

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING - Email me on [email-masked] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben 

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES - Zachary Warmbrodt on the Senate Banking Committee looking to move the two SEC nominees as early as this week - and to get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m. - please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or [email-masked]. 

DRIVING THE DAY - Treasury Secretary Lew will be in Anchorage, Alaska "to join Mayor Ethan Berkowitz for meetings with business and community leaders" ... In the afternoon, the Secretary will depart Anchorage, Alaska en route to Sendai, Japan for a meeting of the G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ... Deputy Secretary Raskin will be in Tokyo, Japan to discuss financial technology and cyber security with local business leaders ... 

House Financial Services has a hearing at 2:00 p.m. on "Examining the CFPB's Proposed Rulemaking on Arbitration: Is it in the Public Interest and for the Protection of Consumers" ... FOMC minutes at 2:00 p.m. could shed light on why the committee dropped the reference to global risks ... 

HEARING PREP - CBA's Richard Hunt on the CFPB hearing: "The CFPB's own study shows the average consumer recovery in arbitration is $5,400 vs. just $32.00 in a class action lawsuit. However, class action attorneys racked up an astonishing $424,945,451. The CFPB, under a sole director leadership structure, is picking trial lawyers over consumers. This math is anything but fuzzy." 

Public Citizen's Bart Naylor emails from JPMorganChase's annual meeting in New Orleans: "No victory for shareholders who believe JPM is worth more in parts. Also, no questions for management in 43 minute meeting, perhaps shortest in recent history. No coffee, no beignets! 

CLINTON WINS KENTUCKY - Lexington Herald: "Hillary Clinton squeaked out a narrow win over Bernie Sanders Tuesday in the Democratic presidential primary in Kentucky, a state she had won overwhelmingly in 2008 against Barack Obama. With 99.7 percent of the precincts counted, Clinton led by about 1,800 votes. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes' office said at 10:30 p.m. that 769 votes in two precincts in Jefferson County had not yet been counted." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec599a64d6495a8a9876014e7549ff0a9a4e570dbf8a7d2ae1e

Sanders looked headed to a win in Oregon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec583a5f815a448f42e72525487b1109a950040fc76c2fcf91c

BILL CLINTON MADE $4.6M ON SPEECHES LAST YEAR - POLITICO's Annie Karni: "Bill Clinton raked in $4.6 million in paid speeches last year, according to his wife's most recent personal financial disclosure released Tuesday night, including $2.4 million after Hillary Clinton announced her presidential run. ... 

"The Clintons' lucrative speech-giving side gigs have emerged as major issues for the Democratic frontrunner on the campaign trail. Hillary Clinton has refused to release transcript of her speeches in front of Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec521ef11d35193cad45ee9fcb828f8c6148052e600b3fe720c

TRUMP INKS FUNDRAISING DEAL WITH RNC - WSJ's Rebecca Ballhaus: "Trump and the [RNC] finalized a joint fundraising agreement late Tuesday that will allow individual donors to write checks of up to $449,400 - far higher than the $2,700 cap on what the New York businessman's campaign can accept. Under the agreement, Mr. Trump's campaign and the RNC will raise money for two joint fundraising committees. 

"The first, called Trump Victory, will raise money for the RNC, the campaign and 11 state party committees. The second, called Trump Make America Great Again Committee, will direct funds only to the RNC and the Trump campaign. ... The general-election campaign is expected to cost more than $1 billion. Raising money jointly with the party allows Mr. Trump to raise funds more efficiently. Instead of finding a broader base of donors to write checks of up to $2,700, he can tap a smaller set of wealthy donors for larger checks" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec5d4d10e878a56758b704054ab95b5e53e90f4e5cca84d3129

JAPAN DODGES RECESSION - Bloomberg: "Japan's economy dodged a recession last quarter as gains in government and consumer spending compensated for a slide in business investment. Gross domestic product expanded by an annualized 1.7 percent in the three months ended March 31, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, a Cabinet Office report showed on Wednesday. The October-to-December quarter was revised to a 1.7 percent contraction, worse than the previous estimate of a 1.1 percent drop." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec5281d734f9f1ab2edb7dbb61ccc8fe8893e618978bc82d4b9

BROWN DOESN'T WANT TO BE VP - POLITICO's Nick Gass: "Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown may support Hillary Clinton, but the Democratic senator provided one reason Tuesday that he might think twice before accepting an invitation to be her running mate: Ohio Gov. John Kasich would nominate his replacement if the ticket is successful. ... If he were on a winning ticket with Clinton, Brown noted, Ohio's Republican governor would appoint his replacement. 'And that bothers me,' he said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec54e5493d5b9d8bfa6149a3e319cc3171ddbb0ed191179e9b3

LAWSUIT ALLEGES BANK OF AMERICA "BROS CLUB" - WSJ's Christina Rexrode: "A Bank of America Corp. executive accused her employer of misleading trading clients, in a lawsuit in which she called the bank a 'bros club' and said it discriminated against her for being a woman. The lawsuit by Megan Messina, 42 years old and a managing director in Bank of America's structured credit products division, said that when she raised concerns about her treatment and allegedly questionable treatment of clients, the bank tried to push her out. She is now on administrative leave.

"A Bank of America spokesman said Tuesday that 'we take all allegations of inappropriate behavior seriously and investigate them thoroughly.' He added that the bank disputed allegations in the suit about business with Pacific Investment Management Co. The lawsuit described alleged instances of misconduct in recent months, including colleagues allegedly front-running trades by clients including Citigroup Inc., and allegedly withholding information from client Blackstone Group" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5cb735aabdd6ec504f0992c4c1a3655b8016347263ba1204a52f7f6256c9de8

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