The August jobs report will be out at 8:30 a.m. … New York Fed President John Williams will speak at a Council on Foreign Relations event at 8:45 a.m. … Fed Gov. Chris Waller will speak in a virtual discussion hosted by the University of Notre Dame at 11 a.m. So, how’d he do? — Former President Donald Trump was in Midtown Manhattan to pitch Wall Street honchos on his plans to slash regulation, lower taxes and impose crushing tariffs on any business that moves its operations overseas. His speech to the people who comprise the Economic Club of New York was both a scripted explanation of his agenda and a highly tangential riff on how a Kamala Harris administration would be tantamount to communism. How’d he do? Well, as with most Trump speeches, it depends on who you ask. In a text message, Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent said the speech was a “level set” for Trump’s policy agenda with new items — like the government waste commission that he’s workshopped with Elon Musk — “that would broaden his appeal.” “He issued a warning on current [Biden administration] policies but then gave an optimistic solution like he used to in 2016,” said Bessent, a former chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management who’s now one of Trump’s biggest allies in financial services. But it’s hardly certain if Trump’s approach to taxes and regulation — which many in corporate America favor — would overwhelm their qualms about his trade and immigration agenda. Wall Street analysts have warned that his plans to impose large tariffs on imports, something he doubled down on during Thursday’s remarks, would limit growth and raise prices. Curtailing immigration could weaken the labor market. And as for his new plan to launch a sovereign wealth fund? “Very dumb,” wrote Cliff Asness, the founder of the hedge fund AQR Capital Management. — Sam Sutton —Trump also pledged Thursday to rescind any “unspent” funds under the Inflation Reduction Act should he be elected in November — potentially upending key parts of the Democrats’ climate law and its benefits to Republican-led communities. —Read Trump’s plan on child care. Just in: All your questions will finally be answered — Well, if you’re into bank regulation anyway. The Brookings Institution is hosting Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr on Sept. 10, where he will preview next steps for regulators’ revised proposal on capital requirements, known as Basel III endgame. (Implicit here is the suggestion that the next step is a re-proposal, which signals agencies have finally agreed on what’s next procedurally for the rule.) First in MM: GOP lawmakers push back on Nippon Steel crackdown — House Republicans raised concerns that the Biden administration's effort to block Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel could be politically motivated, Eleanor Mueller reports. Their resistance could reflect tension between some GOP lawmakers and Trump, who has said he too would block the deal if re-elected – but might also pave the way for Trump himself to make the call next year. Reps. Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Andy Barr of Kentucky are vying to replace retiring House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), while Huizenga and Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania hail from swing states. "Vice President [Kamala] Harris’s remarks, combined with reports that the Biden Administration may be poised to intervene in the transaction, give the strong appearance of political interference," Huizenga, Meuser, Barr and Rep. John Rose of Tennessee wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. "The possibility that these actions are being taken to benefit a particular candidate, given the upcoming presidential election, is deeply troubling." The Treasury Department declined to comment. The members, who sent a similar letter in June, also allege that the administration "may have been discussing CFIUS’s review of the transaction with third parties." They're asking for information on the White House's communications with CFIUS, as well as steps it is taking to keep the review independent. House Financial Services "will seriously consider opening an investigation should the president decide to block this deal for political gain," said a House Republican aide granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. —Also read the NYT on how swing state politics are playing into the Nippon deal.
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