Birdwatching.
"A turnaround for the ages."
“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton.
1. President Trump offered a strident defense of his administration and economic record, declaring the nation is “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before” in a State of the Union address that contained few new policy announcements. The president staged his version of a pep rally for a beleaguered nation, celebrating Olympic victories and military heroism while pledging better fortunes for the public — all while attacking his rival Democrats. The task for Trump is to reverse voter sentiment, with polls showing Americans anxious about the economy and skeptical of his policies ahead of November’s midterm elections. “We have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages,” he said in a speech that lasted a record one hour and 47 minutes. “You’ve seen nothing yet.” (Source: bloomberg.com)
2. The American consumer’s confidence in the U.S. economy improved slightly in February after cratering a month earlier. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 in February from an upwardly revised 89 last month. A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market rose four points to 72, remaining well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. It’s the 13th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80. The measure of consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation fell by 1.8 points to 120. Respondents’ references to prices and inflation were little changed but remain elevated. Mentions of trade and politics increased, while references to labor market conditions eased as perceptions of the job market improved modestly this month. (Source: apnews.com)
3. President Trump pledged to give private-sector workers access to new tax-advantaged plans similar to the federal Thrift Savings Plan. The new plan would offer a government match of as much as $1,000 a year and would be modeled after the low-fee federal Thrift Savings Plan. Trump’s plan is based on the Savers Match program from the “Secure 2.0” legislation and would be modified to ensure portability and allow for philanthropic contributions. (Source: bloomberg.com)
4. The Trump administration is weighing a possible executive order or other action that would require banks to collect citizenship information from customers, a new front in the administration’s crackdown on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, according to people familiar with the matter. The action, which is primarily under review by the Treasury Department, could ultimately task banks with asking for an unprecedented new category of documents, such as a passports, from both new and existing customers who want to maintain a bank account in the U.S., the people said. (Source: wsj.com)
5. Six in ten Americans, including a significant slice of Republicans, think President Donald Trump has become erratic as he ages, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The six-day poll concluded on Monday, the day before the 79-year-old president gives his annual State of the Union address to Congress following a month of angry reprimands of lawmakers and judges. Overall, 61% of respondents in the poll said they would describe Trump as having “become erratic with age.” Some 89% of Democrats, 30% of Republicans and 64% of independents described him this way. (Source: reuters.com)
