Insights: Policy

Defense Spending

The final version of the annual defense policy bill (NDAA) passed the House this week and will pass the Senate next week. NDAA includes a non-binding target for FY26 defense spending that is ~$7b higher than FY25, but the actual spending level is set via separate FY26 defense appropriations legislation, which is likely to be resolved in January....

Legislative activity around the soon-to-expire ACA enhanced subsidies (eAPTCs) accelerated this week but remains highly partisan. The Senate yesterday failed to pass separate Democratic and Republican bills on the issue. And, House Republicans are moving towards a vote next week on what is likely to be a partisan approach to addressing the issue.

Tech / Media / Telecom

Semiconductors/China

President Trump on Monday said he would allow Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China and that the U.S. will collect 25% of the revenues of those sales. AMD and Intel are expected to receive similar treatment. Separately, the White House successfully lobbied to remove the GAIN AI Act from the annual defense policy bill (NDAA). The GAIN...

Financials, Macro

Fed/Supreme Court

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) yesterday heard oral arguments in the Slaughter case – the first of the various lawsuits challenging President Trump’s ability to fire members of independent boards to appear before the court for argumentation. As a reminder, SCOTUS has scheduled separate oral arguments in the Cook case – regarding the legality of...

Financials, Macro

Federal Reserve/Chair Nomination

A variety of developments have occurred that suggest President Trump is preparing to nominate NEC Director Hassett to a seat on the Fed Board and as Chair. Some market participants have reportedly expressed concern to Treasury Secretary Bessent that Hassett would be too willing to cut rates aggressively to please Trump. However, a number of...

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program

CMS has announced the results of the second round of Medicare drug price negotiations (which comprised 15 Medicare Part D drugs). According to CMS, the negotiations yielded net savings (as compared to 2024 spending) of $12b (a 44% discount taking into consideration rebates and certain fees/payments). That figure drops to $8.5b (or a 36%...