Boston Fed President Susan Collins speaks at 8:40 a.m. … Existing home sales data released at 10 a.m. DEBT LIMIT DREAMS — White House officials aren’t optimistic about a deal to raise the debt ceiling in the lame duck session, our colleagues Ben White and Adam Cancryn reported. But there’s still a behind-the-scenes effort to figure out a strategy for lifting the borrowing limit before Republicans take control of the House next year, one administration official tells MM. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threw cold water on the idea of a deal this week, but a lot could change over the next month, the administration official said, especially now that we’re past the House and Senate leadership elections and the makeup of the House is becoming clearer. If McConnell determines that House Republican leaders won’t be able to wrangle the votes in their caucus to raise the limit next year, “the prospects of it getting done in the lame duck go way, way up,” the official said. Of course, McConnell would need to deliver GOP votes, too. Congress has to fund the government before leaving for the holidays, which could provide an incentive for some lawmakers to support a spending deal that also raises the debt ceiling. Wishful thinking? Probably. But some in the administration still see a possible path. BUT TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK — Our Declan Harty and Sam Sutton: “Newly installed FTX CEO John Ray III blasted the bankrupt crypto exchange's management in a court filing Thursday , writing that he had never seen ‘such a complete failure of corporate controls’ during a 40-year career of helping companies restructure — including Enron. "’From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented,’ wrote Ray, who was tapped less than a week ago to try and salvage FTX for parts.” — Sam Bankman-Fried’s not helping his case with Ray, per WSJ: “FTX lawyers alleged that Mr. Bankman-Fried and the government of the Bahamas have worked to siphon and transfer FTX assets into accounts outside the control of management , even after the company filed for bankruptcy in Delaware last week.” —Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are demanding answers from the bankrupt crypto exchange , as Washington ramps up investigations into the sudden collapse of former billionaire Bankman-Fried’s empire, Sam also reports. BYE BYE, BIG GOV — From your MM host: “[I]t’s a new day for Bidenomics. With Republicans set to take control of the House and Biden’s Democrats maintaining a razor-thin edge in the Senate, the president must now find a way to work with GOP lawmakers to get things done. Rather than driving the economic policy agenda on Capitol Hill, Biden will be along for the ride — forced to grapple with issues that Republicans care about, or else settle for gridlock.” WATCH OUT, WALL STREET — Our Zachary Warmbrodt and Sam: “Wall Street loves Republican tax cuts and deregulation. It’s going to hate the GOP’s plans for 2023 . “Republican lawmakers, who will be in the House majority come January, are pressing party leaders to send a message to big financial firms: Stop appeasing the left with “woke” business practices, keep financing fossil fuels and cut ties with China. Republicans will have committee gavels and subpoena powers to back that up.”
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