OVERNIGHT FINANCE: Financial advisers face new rules

Just think, wonks, this week the NFL has given new meaning to “deflation…”

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: SCOOP – – ADMINISTRATION READIES CRACKDOWN ON FINANCIAL ADVISERS. My take for the hometown paper: “The White House is preparing to unveil new rules meant to tighten restrictions on financial advisers offering guidance on Americans’ retirement savings accounts.

“The pitch, outlined in a White House memo obtained first by The Hill, comes after the financial industry has worked for years to delay a rule being pushed by the Department of Labor that would change how investment advisers are paid.

{mosads}”For years, progressives have raised concerns that the same financial advisers and investment dealers who help Americans with their IRA and 401(k)s are also pocketing commissions while making sales that aren’t in their clients best interests.

“But the business community has vehemently refuted the allegations, arguing that the industry is rooted in trust and organized to allow for low-income Americans to get the same financial advice as the wealthy.” Story: http://bit.ly/1yKNvep White House memo: http://bit.ly/1xFJNya

— FLASHBACK: CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS ON FIDUCIARY DUTY, via Mark Schoeff Jr. on March 27, 2013, for InvestmentNews: “In a March 15 letter to the acting Labor Secretary Seth Harris, eight members of the House Financial Services Committee who are also members of the Congressional Black Caucus expressed reservations about a potential DOL regulation that would expand the definition of ‘fiduciary.'”

THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE, and tomorrow is Friday. That’s right… you made it to the end of a wonky week. Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-release.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-release.thehill.com/signup/48.

THE NEW WAR OVER WALL STREET? – – OBAMA, GOP ON A DODD-FRANK COLLISION COURSE, via The Hill’s Pete Schroeder: President Obama and congressional Republicans are on a collision course over Wall Street regulations. Republicans are eyeing a host of changes and revisions to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law after racking up a string of victories on that front in recent weeks.

“But after acquiescing in a pair of must-pass bills, Obama is now adopting a more strident tone about changes to his 2010 financial overhaul, warning in the State of the Union that there are some things he simply will not accept. Liberal Democrats, some of whom had blasted the White House for accepting changes to Dodd-Frank in December, say they are thrilled by the president’s get-tough approach.

“But veto threats from the White House when it comes to Dodd-Frank are nothing new, and Republicans are expressing confidence they can make gains by seeking to repeal and alter provisions of the law as part of broader legislation that has Democratic support. Industry advocates, meanwhile, see openings to move through small, targeted changes to the financial regulations that they say are overly constrictive.” Read: http://bit.ly/1t3tjDx

SPORTS BLINK – – DEAN HELLER: PUNISH THE PATRIOTS. Rebecca Shabad: “Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) on Thursday said the National Football League should punish the New England Patriots for allegedly deflating footballs in last Sunday’s conference championship against the Indianapolis Colts. ‘I’m calling on the NFL to work with the NFL Players Association to restore the credibility of the game before the Super Bowl kicks off on Feb. 1. I am seeking decisive actions ensuring all teams are playing according to the rules,’ Heller said.” http://bit.ly/1yOB3bP

— ACTUAL WALL STREET JOURNAL HEADLINE: “Tom Brady, Monetary Economist? ‘I Have No Explanation’ For Deflation.” http://on.wsj.com/1xFOo3m

DEMOCRATS DIVIDED: OBAMA VS. REID ON TRADE. President Obama wants fast-track legislation in Congress that’d allow for the administration to enter into two major trade deals. But liberals within his own party are bucking the White House and opposing the plan, arguing that the trade deals will hurt American workers and help big business.

— WHY LIBERALS ARE MAD: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democrats argue that fast-tracking legislation would put U.S. workers in competition with low-wage foreign workers. Big unions also vehemently oppose the legislation. Primer, via The Hill’s Vicki Needham and Mike Lillis: http://bit.ly/1uxY5p1

— SHOT, via HARRY REID, speaking to reporters earlier today for the first time since recovering from his work-out injury: “I’ve always been suspect my entire career in Congress of these trade agreement… I don’t support fast-track because I have not been shown that trade agreements have helped the middle class.” Needham has Reid’s interview: http://bit.ly/1uojn2E

— CHASER, SEN. MARK WARNER (D-Va.), who backs the White House, tells OVERNIGHT: “Increased trade can help American workers. I believe the White House has made the promise that this is not your grandfather’s trade agreement… We need to make the point that — and this is where there’s a challenge that I’ve still got to look through, too — by putting all these countries that we’re doing business with right now in many cases they are using the facts that there are no standards at all to the detriment of American workers.”

CONSUMER AGENCY TARGETS BIG BANKS, via Peter Schroeder: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau assessed nearly $36 million in penalties against Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase for the banks’ role in a ‘mortgage kickback’ scheme.

“The financial regulator charged bank employees with entering into an illegal arrangement with a now-defunct Maryland mortgage title company, under which the title company gave cash, marketing materials and consumer information in exchange for bank business.” http://bit.ly/15CW1Rm

GAS TAX – – NOT HAPPENING? Keith Laing for The Hill: “Congress is unlikely to pass an increase in the federal gas tax this year, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee said Thursday. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said a deal to boost U.S. infrastructure funding will likely have to find an alternative source of revenue, potentially as part of a broader tax reform package, because the tax hike won’t pass muster with members of Congress.” http://bit.ly/1BiGD7d

WEED WATCH: OBAMA SAYS MARIJUANA WILL BE LEGALIZED. Justin Sink: “President Obama believes more states are likely to legalize marijuana following efforts in Colorado and Washington state. ‘My suspicion is that you’re going to see other states look at this,’ the president said in an interview with YouTube blogger Hank Green.” http://bit.ly/1yOVXI0

CYBER WATCH: FEDS UNVEIL NEW CARD TECH, via Julian Hattem: “The federal government is following through with President Obama’s call for new secure payment cards. This month, the General Services Administration (GSA) will begin issuing new charge cards equipped with a microchip and requiring users to enter a PIN number instead of a signature, it said.

“Cards with those technologies are considered to be more secure than credit and debit cards with magnetic strips, which are much more common in the U.S. In October, President Obama signed an executive order to transition all government credit cards and cards with people’s federal benefits — such as Social Security payments — to use the technology, in an effort to avoid identity theft.” http://bit.ly/1EwqHiU

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