John Cassidy: “Two years to the week after the first Covid-19 cases in this country were confirmed, it’s increasingly clear who the biggest economic winners have been. The tech giants that benefited from the shift to remote work, such as Amazon and Microsoft, are the most obvious ones, but the list also includes major Wall Street banks and large financial firms.”

“Last Friday, JPMorgan Chase, the biggest bank in the country, announced that it had made a post-tax profit of $48.3 billion in 2021. Nearly fifty billion dollars. That’s about thirty-five per cent more than the thirty-six billion dollars that JPMorgan Chase made in 2019, the year before the pandemic, which was itself a record figure.”

“On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs announced record post-tax profits of $21.6 billion for 2021. The past twelve months have been such a stellar period for the firm that, according to Bloomberg News, it is preparing to give some of its most senior employees two year-end bonuses.”

“It’s hard to exaggerate the extent to which the current Wall Street bonanza is a product of the stimulative policies that the Fed and Congress introduced to lessen the pain of the pandemic.”

“Congress often talks tough about reining in Wall Street. But now there’s growing pressure on Capitol Hill to curb lawmakers’ own trading,” CNBC reports.

“Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) who has emerged as a leading voice on the issue, plans to introduce legislation by the end of the week that would require members of Congress – along with their spouses and dependents – to put their assets in a blind trust. But he’s not alone. There’s some bipartisan support in Congress for limiting members’ trading activity.”

“The Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates “sooner or at a faster pace” than officials had initially anticipated as the central bank seeks to tame soaring inflation, according to minutes from its latest meeting,” the Financial Times reports.

“The White House is strongly considering nominating Sarah Bloom Raskin to become the Fed’s top banking regulator, and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson as Fed governors,” the Washington Post reports.

“The nominees would complete President Biden’s roster to the Fed’s seven-seat board, while appealing to Democrats who have pushed for stronger Wall Street oversight and those who have pressed for more diversity within the Fed’s top ranks.”

Jonathan Last notes that the stock market is at record highs, yet a new CNBC poll finds just 44% of voters say they strongly or somewhat approve of President Biden handling of the market, compared to 56% who somewhat or strongly disapprove.

“Voters have decided they think Biden is doing a bad job in general, and they are applying that verdict to everything he touches. That’s how you get a political death spiral…”

“Yet no matter how irrational voters have suddenly become, Biden’s administration needs to figure out how to rationalize them. I don’t know if this is a comms problem. Or a policy problem. Or a state-of-the-world problem.”

“But it is a problem. And it if Biden’s team doesn’t fix it, they’re in a world of trouble.”

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams “unexpectedly submitted her resignation after the Trump appointee faced partisan strife at the bank regulator, in a move that will give Democrats control of the agency in the coming weeks,” Politico reports.

“President Biden is considering Sarah Bloom Raskin for a top role at the Federal Reserve as part of a slate of three nominees for central bank board seats,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Most Federal Reserve officials signaled Wednesday they were prepared to raise their short-term benchmark rate at least three times next year to cool high inflation,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“As expected, officials also approved plans to more quickly scale back its pandemic stimulus efforts in response to hotter inflation, opening the door to rate increases starting next spring.”

“Saule Omarova, President Biden’s pick to serve as a top banking regulator, has withdrawn her nomination for the office of the Comptroller of the Currency,” the Washington Post reports.

“During Omarova’s confirmation hearing last month, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) had suggested that her upbringing in Soviet-controlled Kazakhstan indicated a possible Communist loyalty.”

“The publicly traded SPAC that has announced plans to merge with former President Donald Trump’s new social media company said in a new filing Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission and another market regulator have asked for information regarding stock trading and communications with Trump’s company before the deal was announced,” CNBC reports.

Bloomberg: Who just gave Trump $1 billion? Let’s find out.

“A thousand years ago, when money meant coins, China invented paper currency. Now the Chinese government is minting cash digitally, in a re-imagination of money that could shake a pillar of American power,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“China’s version of a digital currency is controlled by its central bank, which will issue the new electronic money. It is expected to give China’s government vast new tools to monitor both its economy and its people. By design, the digital yuan will negate one of bitcoin’s major draws: anonymity for the user.”

“President Biden is considering Richard Cordray, the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to serve as the Federal Reserve’s top banking regulator,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Cordray is a key ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

“Stocks, oil prices and government-bond yields slumped after South Africa raised the alarm over a fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus, triggering concern that travel restrictions and other curbs will spoil the global economy’s recovery,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

CNBC: “The downward moves came after WHO officials on Thursday warned of a new Covid-19 variant that’s been detected in South Africa. The new variant contains more mutations to the spike protein, the component of the virus that binds to cells, than the highly contagious Delta variant. Because of these mutations, scientists fear it could have increased resistance to vaccines.”

“President Biden is set to nominate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to a second term leading the central bank, the White House said Monday, opting for continuity in U.S. economic policy despite pushback from some Democrats who wanted someone tougher on bank regulations and climate change,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Biden will also nominate Fed governor Lael Brainard as vice chair of the central bank’s board of governors.”

“President Biden faces one of the most important economic policy decisions of his presidency, which is expected this week, when deciding who should lead the Federal Reserve when Chairman Jerome Powell’s term expires in February,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Biden has signaled he is looking for continuity in Fed policy because he is considering whether to reappoint Mr. Powell for a second four-year term or elevate governor Lael Brainard, who has strongly backed the central bank’s interest rate policy over the past four years.”

“Instead, the president’s choice may turn on politics rather than economics, because Mr. Powell’s candidacy has divided progressive Democrats and led to competing views inside the Biden administration.”

“Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard was interviewed for the top job at the U.S. central bank when she visited the White House last week, signaling that Chair Jerome Powell has a serious rival as President Joe Biden considers who will lead the Fed for the next four years,” Bloomberg reports.

“Federal Reserve governor Randal Quarles said Monday he would resign his position around the end of this year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Quarles’s resignation will open up another seat for President Biden to fill on the central bank’s seven-member board of governors.”

“President Biden held separate meetings with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Fed governor Lael Brainard at the White House on Thursday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The people said Mr. Biden hasn’t yet made a final decision on whom he will tap to lead the central bank, but he is expected to decide soon.”