The President’s newfound enthusiasm for a large stimulus package does not appear to be enough to get a deal over the line. The administration is blaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a lack of progress while she called the latest offer a "miserable and deadly failure." White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said a deal is not essential for the economic recovery, and suggested targeted assistance might be enough. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to continue talks with Pelosi this week knowing that even if they do come to agreement, there is little chance of getting legislation passed by Congress ahead of the election. 

Financial earnings will dominate the current week as the sector tries to break out of the malaise that made it an underperformer throughout the summer's recovery rally. Trading revenue and bank credit loss estimates will give an indication of the pace of the economic recovery, though the four largest lenders more than doubled their war chests for defaulted loans over the first six months of the year. Among those reporting over the next few days are JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley. 

The EU has been working to make powerful tech companies less powerful, and the bloc is building a list of businesses that are in its crosshairs, FT reports. The "hit list" includes up to 20 of the largest internet companies - based on market share of revenues and the number of users - that will be subject to new and far more stringent rules. New regulations would force them to share data with rivals and make them more transparent on how they collect information. A number of Big Tech names, including Facebook, Apple and Amazon and Google are already under antitrust scrutiny in the U.S., and last week a House subcommittee said Congress should consider breaking up some companies.

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.