Macro / Misc.


December 20, 2024

Government Shutdown Update and What the Divide Might Mean for the Next Congress

By Joe Lieber

When Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initially pulled his negotiating continuing resolution (CR) with the Democrats, our view was that a government shutdown was unlikely.  Yes, we might have technically had one over the weekend, but…

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December 18, 2024

Government Shutdown Unlikely; CR Likely to Pass

By Joe Lieber

Despite all the criticism, especially from President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Elon Musk, we do not believe there will be a government shutdown this week and expect Congress to pass a continuing resolution…

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December 17, 2024

[DKNG, FLUT, CZR, MGM] Sports Betting in the Crosshairs?

By Joe Lieber

We don’t believe today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “America’s High-Stakes Bet on Legalized Sports Gambling” does little to move the needle on federal legislation, despite most senators being critical of the industry. In fact,…

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December 17, 2024

Trump Tariff and Trade Conference Call Takeaways

By Joe Lieber

Below we provide our key takeaways from a conference call we hosted last week with a former trade official in Trump’s first administration. A transcript of the call is available upon request. Our guest believes…

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December 12, 2024

(GEO, CXW) DC Quick Takes: Cap Gains/Dividend Taxes, Reconciliation and Ukraine

By Joe Lieber

We don’t see the top long-term 20% capital gains tax or the 20% divided tax rate coming down in the tax bill next year, despite President-elect Trump mentioning this policy goal in response to a…

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December 4, 2024

(FDX, UPS, AMZN, PDD) De Minimis Bill Likely to Pass Next Congress

By Joe Lieber

We believe there’s a 2-in-3 chance that de minimis legislation, which would limit China and other non-market economies from taking advantage of the $800 threshold for which goods come into the U.S. without paying duties,…

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December 2, 2024

Lame Duck Session Update

By Joe Lieber

Roughly a month ago, we published our outlook for the lame duck session, which included a laundry list of issues ranging from healthcare, business tax provisions, tech items, trade issues (de minimis rule),  and cannabis. …

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November 26, 2024

Trade Update: Expect the Unexpected

By Joe Lieber

We have the following comments about President-elect Trump’s posts last night on Truth Social regarding tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada:   We doubt that Trump’s call for an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products due…

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November 22, 2024

Potential SNAP/Food Stamp Changes Under Trump

By Joe Lieber

We believe the concerns over cuts/changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/food stamp program are overblown as a result of the Republican sweep, whether RFK Jr. is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human…

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November 19, 2024

DC Quick Takes: Govt. Funding, Credit Card Swipe Fees, SNAP Program, DOGE and Crypto Legislation

By Joe Lieber

With Congress in the second week of the lame duck session and as President-elect Trump continues to make headlines, there are several issues important to investors that we want to touch base on, including:   How…

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