Citigroup Grows the World’s Tiniest Pair, Restricts Some Gun Sales
In the wake of the Parkland massacre, corporate America paused, took a moment to read the room, and concluded that perhaps being associated with routine mass murder was not the greatest look. While politicians in Washington—who’ve done nothing to restrict access to guns because, among other things, they’ve been bought off by the N.R.A.—have rightfully shouldered most of the blame for the epidemic, the companies that seemingly have no business selling firearms drew their share of scrutiny; it was more than a little bizarre to find out, for instance, that L.L.Bean, purveyor of canvas totes and preppy polos, was selling rifles alongside its khaki pants, or that Enterprise Rent-A-Car offered discounts to N.R.A. members. Under pressure from social-media campaigns like #BoycottNRA, a number of companies, including Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Delta, Wyndham Hotel Group, MetLife, and others, announced they were severing ties with the gun-lobbying group, while others, like L.L.Bean, made changes to their gun-sales policies. Still, the money-shaped elephant in the room was Wall Street, and the fact that the way to really have an impact on the N.R.A., whose mission is basically to sell at least a dozen AR-15’s to every man, woman, and child in America, is through the banks. As Andrew Ross Sorkin opined in The New York Times, because the finance industry collectively has “more leverage over the gun industry than any lawmaker,” it would make sense for banks, credit card processors, and credit card companies to effectively cut gun sellers off at the knees by changing their terms of service to state that they “won’t do business with retailers that sell assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and bump stocks”—something PayPal, Stripe, Square, and Apple Pay did years ago. And a month later, one company has taken a teeny-tiny step in that direction:
Citigroup is setting restrictions on the sale of firearms by its business customers, making it the first Wall Street bank to take a stance in the divisive nationwide gun-control debate.
The new policy, announced Thursday, prohibits the sale of firearms to customers who have not passed a background check or who are younger than 21. It also bars the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. It would apply to clients who offer credit cards backed by Citigroup or borrow money, use banking services, or raise capital through the company.
The rules, which the company described as “common-sense measures,” echo similar restrictions established by some major retailers, like Walmart. But they also represent the boldest such move to emerge from the banking sector.
In a statement to the Times, Citigroup C.E.O. Michael Corbat said the new policy has “been a while coming,” adding, “We don’t pretend that these answers are perfect, but as we looked at the things we thought we could influence, we felt that, working with our clients, we could make a difference.” He added that “banks serve a societal purpose—we believe our investors want us to do this and be responsible corporate citizens.”
Obviously, Citi could do more (Corbat acknowledged that some “will find our policy too strict while others will find it too lenient”). But considering that its peers have done even less—when asked for comment from the Times, Wells Fargo passed the buck to Washington, saying, “our company believes the best way to make progress on these issues is through the political and legislative process”—it should be acknowledged as a tiny start!
Back in Washington, things are cranking along just swimmingly; a measure to ask states very nicely—but not require them—to contribute more frequently to the national background-check system made it into Congress’s must-pass budget bill, as did a measure authorizing $50 million in grants to train students and school officials on “how to identify and intervene early when signs of violence arise, construct anonymous reporting systems, and implement school threat assessment protocols to prevent school shootings before they occur.” Meanwhile, senators like John Kennedy are hard at work. Within days of a French bulldog dying, Kennedy introduced legislation prohibiting putting animals in overhead compartments. (He does not think any sort of gun control whatsoever is necessary and is instead trying to make “idiot control” happen.)
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Wilbur Ross says Larry Kudlow will keep his trap shut re: tariffs being a terrible idea
Of the many strikes against him (blowing the financial crisis, thinking it’s a travesty that the wealthy have gone nearly three months without a tax cut), the one thing Larry Kudlow sort of had going for him when he was hired as National Economic Council director was that he was against tariffs. But, as is the case with anyone who possesses an iota of sense prior to working for Donald Trump, the president has since beaten it out of him, with 45 telling reporters that the TV pundit “has come around to believing in tariffs.” And just in case Kudlow starts getting any crazy ideas in his head about reversing course, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross made sure to send him a message on Thursday: zip your sh-t, pal.
Kudlow “well understands our policy” on trade, Ross told CNBC. ”He wouldn't have taken the job just to be a thorn in the president’s side.”
Also on Thursday? Trump unveiled his $50 billion worth of China-targeted tariffs, which the market absolutely loved:
In response, the Chinese embassy in D.C. said: “China is strongly disappointed and firmly opposes such an action. China does not want a trade war with anyone. But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war . . . If a trade war were initiated by the U.S., China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures” (Emphasis ours, because that doesn’t sound terrifying at all).
Lloyd Blankfein likes how Trump cuts out the middle man when it comes to getting his dumbest ideas to the masses
“It’s only with some great trepidation I’d say anything positive about the president in this crowd, or any crowd,” the Goldman Sachs C.E.O. said at an event on Thursday. “But I would say that one of the things I admire is the way he disintermediated the press. I mean, really, you have to say it.” (In the last 24 hours, Trump has “disintermediated” the press to tell his followers that 1) it’s totally fine to congratulate a murderous autocrat on winning a rigged election, 2) he’d totally beat Joe Biden in a street fight, and 3) to confirm that he can’t spell to save his life.
House Intel Republicans see no reason to chat with Mark Zuckerberg
What could they possibly have to discuss?:
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee voted down a Democratic proposal to hold a hearing with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and other tech C.E.O.s, according to the panel’s ranking member, Adam Schiff.
The Democratic effort came amid a firestorm over revelations that Trump-linked Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained information on some 50-million Facebook users . . . House Intelligence Republicans also voted today to end their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, declaring that a string of contacts between Donald Trump’s associates and Russian government affiliates fell short of collusion.
Trump convinces himself “check’s in the mail” for the border wall
You may recall that when Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president, he claimed he’d build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. That eventually changed to taxpayers will lay out the money but Mexico will totally pay us back, which became Mexico will pay for the wall through import tariffs, which led to Mexico will “pay for the wall indirectly through NAFTA,” which most recently became the wall will pay for itself. Now, we’re apparently back to taxpayers will shell out the first $1.6 billion and the remaining $17 billion is totally on the way, if the president’s tweet about today’s spending bill is any indication:
Elsewhere!
House Passes Mammoth Spending Bill (W.S.J.)
A Little Tariff Talk Goes a Long Way in Spooking the Market (Bloomberg)
Professor says the workplace is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. (Washington Post)
Up, Up, Up Goes the Economy. Here’s What Could Knock It Down. (N.Y.T.)
U.S. banks in ‘arms race’ for deposits as rates rise (Financial Times)
Trump exempts E.U., four other allies from steel, aluminum tariffs (Politico)
Dimon payday means a year’s wages for typical J.P. Morgan staff (Financial Times)
Reporter’s Notebook: The Tale of Theranos and the Mysterious Fire Alarm (California Healthline)
Shaggy Is Performing at the Queen’s Birthday Concert (Vanities)