OVERNIGHT MONEY: Outta here, the sequel

WHERE WE STAND:
 
Just before 5p.m. Tuesday, President Obama sent a certification to Congress that, under the newly signed debt deal, triggers an automatic $400 billion increase in the debt ceiling. Following that up, Mary Miller, assistant treasury secretary for financial markets, is set to announce new Treasury bond auctions at the August quarterly refunding statement.

With the debt-ceiling kerfuffle behind them, the Senate high-tailed it out of Washington on Tuesday night, a day after their colleagues on the south side of the Capitol.
 
On their way out, Democrats in both bodies said Tuesday that the fall would be about stimulating job growth, even as the debt deal’s spending caps put stimulus spending essentially off the table. That won’t stop lobbyists from pushing lawmakers to complete a big transportation bill in September, or to shift funding to spending on infrastructure and other areas favored by Democrats. 

With that in mind, the American High Speed Rail Alliance is set to hold a briefing on “Job Creation and U.S. Investment in High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail” to an emptied-out Capitol Hill on Wednesday.  

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR:

Not crossed off the list: The Senate is leaving town for the next several weeks — next scheduled votes: Sept. 6 — with a spending impasse over the Federal Aviation Administration still lingering.

House GOP aides have said that the Senate should have just passed a measure from its chamber funding the agency, while Senate Democrats have tried in recent days to work out a clean FAA funding extension. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had said Tuesday that he would accept the House measure, even though it cuts subsidies for flights at rural airports in his and other states. But other Democrats were not willing to make that jump, and the FAA now looks as if it will not be fully funded for the next month-plus.

Missed the memo?: Recess? What recess?

Hearings and other Capitol Hill events may be dropping off the calendar left and right, but the Senate Banking Committee is sticking with a pair of subcommittee hearings scheduled for Wednesday. In the morning, the Securities, Insurance and Investment subpanel will discuss the nation’s housing finance system, which Congress is expected to eventually overhaul. Experts from the world of investment and housing will be on hand to offer their two cents.

Come afternoon, the Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection subcommittee takes the stage for a hearing on debt financing in the domestic financial sector. A handful of academics and experts will be testifying on that issue.

Economic indicators:

With Congress gone, a busy Wednesday of economic indicators should provide some insight into the economy’s direction for the second half of the year.

— ADP Employer Services is set to announce private sector employment for July, two days ahead of the government employment report. ADP’s figures will provide a possible estimate on Friday’s numbers, although the report has been more than a little off several times on the government’s figures, which also include public employment.

— Challenger, Gray & Christmas is slated to release its July job-cuts survey. Through June, the group found the layoff pace for the year had hit its lowest level since 2000.

— The Mortgage Bankers Association will release its weekly report on loan applications.

— The Commerce Department is expected to release figures on factory orders, which consist of the earlier announced durable goods report plus non-durable goods orders.

— And finally, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its index of non-manufacturing businesses, which covers between an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of the economy.

BREAKING TUESDAY:

The Dem BBA: Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) on Tuesday announced that, as part of the debt-ceiling agreement, his version of the Balanced Budget Agreement would get a vote in the last quarter of this year.

Udall’s amendment, not as strict as versions favored by congressional Republicans, would seek to protect Social Security funds and only allow income tax breaks for millionaires in case of a surplus. The measure has the support of five other Senate Democrats: Max Baucus (Mont.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.).

The aftermath: Pimco’s Bill Gross told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday that the economy was at the tipping point for a double-dip recession, while also calling on policymakers to use fresh revenues as they look to reduce deficits.

That said, Gross also said President Obama didn’t exactly cover himself in glory in this most recent showdown.

Theater of the absurd?: The New York Times’s Dan Barry examines Monday’s debt-ceiling machinations on Capitol Hill from an outsider’s perspective.

Movin’ on up: Chrysler sales increased 20 percent in July, The Detroit News reports.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

On the Money’s Tuesday:

— Moody’s to U.S.: You’re still AAA, but…

— Fitch likes the deal.

— But Tim Geithner not sure it prevents eventual downgrade.

— Mark Warner: Senate could stall a Geithner replacement.

— Markets drop for an eighth straight day. 

— It’s September for the trade deals.

— John McCain says “Super Congress” would have to look at revenues.

— Spencer Bachus does take a look at the SEC.

— Carl Levin, Chuck Grassley take a gander at shell corporations.

— Ohio sheriffs like Richard Cordray.

— And consumer spending drops.

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