Thinner Than a Hair Fiber.

A well-timed life.

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The Indian election results were described by one observer on Monday as “a political earthquake.” A special edition of Political News Items devoted to the Indian election returns will be distributed this morning at 8am (ET). Hopefully, it will give you a fairly comprehensive overview of what happened and what happens next. It will be free to read. You can subscribe to Political News Items by clicking on this link. You can unsubscribe at any time.

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1. The Wall Street Journal:

When President Biden met with congressional leaders in the West Wing in January to negotiate a Ukraine funding deal, he spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him, according to five people familiar with the meeting. He read from notes to make obvious points, paused for extended periods and sometimes closed his eyes for so long that some in the room wondered whether he had tuned out.

In a February one-on-one chat in the Oval Office with House Speaker Mike Johnson, the president said a recent policy change by his administration that jeopardizes some big energy projects was just a study, according to six people told at the time about what Johnson said had happened. Johnson worried the president’s memory had slipped about the details of his own policy.

Last year, when Biden was negotiating with House Republicans to lift the debt ceiling, his demeanor and command of the details seemed to shift from one day to the next, according to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and two others familiar with the talks. On some days, he had loose and spontaneous exchanges with Republicans, and on others he mumbled and appeared to rely on notes.

“I used to meet with him when he was vice president. I’d go to his house,” McCarthy said in an interview. “He’s not the same person.” (Source: wsj.com)

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2. Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said he sees higher long-term interest rates over time. “Markets should be getting used to rates in current ranges for the foreseeable future and probably long rates above current levels,” he said Tuesday in an Economic Club of New York webinar conducted with former White House chief economist Glenn Hubbard. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is currently around 4.3%. Summers said inflation is not on a “convincing trajectory” to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. “We need to adjust ourselves to a 4 1/2% neutral rate as a reasonable best guess,” he said. “That probably means less Fed cutting than is now anticipated.” Traders in the federal funds futures market are betting that the central bank will reduce rates by about a half percentage point by the end of the year.   (Source: bloomberg.com)

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3. Almost two-thirds of Americans considered middle class said they are facing economic hardship and don’t anticipate a change for the rest of their lives, according to a poll commissioned by the National True Cost of Living Coalition. By many traditional measures, the US economy is strong, with robust labor, housing and stock markets, as well as solid gross domestic product growth. But the data don’t capture the financial insecurity of millions of households who worry about their future and are unable to save, according to the group,  formed this year by two anti-poverty organizations that seek to come up with cost-of-living tools that help gauge economic well-being. In the large poll of 2,500 adults, 65% of people who earn more than 200% of the federal poverty level — that’s at least $60,000 for a family of four, often considered middle class — said they are struggling financially. A sizable share of higher-income Americans also feel financially insecure. The survey found that a quarter of people making over five times the federal poverty level — an annual income of more than $150,000 for a family of four — worry about paying their bills.  (Source: bloomberg.com)