OVERNIGHT FINANCE: Weak economic data; GOP budget deal

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: FED GETS BAD DATA. Pete Schroeder for the hometown paper: “The Federal Reserve believes the U.S. economy has slowed down, but the central bank is showing no sign of slowing plans to raise interest rates. The latest policy update from the Fed acknowledged the economy slowed at the beginning of 2015 and job gains have ‘moderated.’ It also noted household spending declined, even as personal incomes rose and consumer sentiment remained high.

“But it does not appear as if those changes are leading to any dramatic swings from the Fed’s plan to raise rates sometime this year for the first time in nearly a decade. In its policy statement, the Fed said that despite the slowdown in job and economic growth, it still expects the economy will continue to expand ‘at a moderate pace.'” http://bit.ly/1ERHz7X

{mosads}THIS IS OVERNIGHT FINANCE. Oh, you’re tired. You know what else gets tired? Babies. Keep it movin’… Tweet: @kevcirilli; email: kcirilli@digital-staging.thehill.com; and subscribe: http://digital-staging.thehill.com/signup/48. Back to work…

GOP UNVEILS BUDGET DEAL: Rebecca Shabad has the story: “House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a budget deal that aims to torpedo ObamaCare while balancing the federal books within 10 years. The deal would approve more than $5 trillion in spending cuts over a decade, and seeks to use the budget procedure known as reconciliation to send a repeal of the healthcare law to President Obama’s desk. The budget also sticks to the $1.017 trillion sequestration budget ceiling for 2016, and boosts military spending through an infusion of cash to the war fund.

“Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had delayed the release of the deal since Monday because of provisions he described as ‘gimmicks’ that deal with changes in mandatory programs. He relented on Wednesday and signed the agreement. The deal reconciles the rival budget blueprints passed by the House and Senate, and will not require a signature from President Obama. If adopted, it will be the first Republican budget agreement in a decade. The House is expected to vote Friday on the deal, a leadership aide said.” http://bit.ly/1JBOV0g

DAYS UNTIL EX-IM SHUTS DOWN: 61. The House Freedom Caucus — a coalition of about 40 mostly Tea Party House Republicans — came out against the Export-Import Bank on Wednesday. The group, which does not release its official roster so members can speak more freely with each other, urged House leadership to let the bank’s charter expire June 30. “The Ex-Im Bank is the ‘bridge to nowhere’ of corporate welfare, and is a classic example of crony capitalism,” the group said in a statement. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the group, is chairing a hearing Thursday during which Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg is slated to testify. STORY: http://bit.ly/1HZO09J

— FIRST IN OVERNIGHT: Hochberg’s testimony for tomorrow’s hearing. His key line: “In 1983, Congress enacted a small business mandate as a percentage of the Bank’s loan, guarantee, and insurance authority. This required the Bank to ‘make available not less than 6 percent of such authority’ in fiscal year 1984, 8 percent in fiscal year 1985, and 10 percent in fiscal year 1986 and thereafter. Congress increased the percentage in 2002 to 20 percent. …Ex-Im Bank has approved more small business financing over the past six years than in the previous 16 years combined.” http://bit.ly/1duqRiS

HENSARLING URGES SENATORS TO KILL EX-IM: House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) urged senators on Wednesday to let the Export-Import Bank’s charter expire on June 30. Hensarling made the pitch at a private meeting of the Republican Senate Steering Committee, which was attended by about 35 Republicans senators, according to a House GOP aide. http://bit.ly/1bW1pCh

COMING TOMORROW: FIORINA FIGHTS BACK AGAINST HP CRITICS. My latest story: “Carly Fiorina’s political future depends on whether she can defend her record as CEO of Hewlett Packard. The likely GOP presidential candidate is aiming to do just that that in her new book Rising to the Challenge. Set to be released May 5– a day after the expected launch of her 2016 campaign — she now claims the decision to fire her in 2005 after a turbulent six-year tenure was a result of a dysfunctional board of directors and not her leadership. In an interview with The Hill, Fiorina said that members of her own board leaked confidential information to the media to undermine her decisions, though she stopped short of alleging outright sexism. She was the first woman to ever become CEO of a Fortune 20 company.”

SANDERS JUMPING IN: From The Hill’s Jordain Carney: “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will hold a press conference Thursday on his ‘agenda for America’ the same day he is expected to announce a Democratic presidential bid. The Independent’s office sent out a notice to reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the senator will hold a press conference from the U.S. Capitol at noon.

“Asked about what the senator would discuss, Sanders spokesman Jeff Frank said it’s ‘about his agenda for America, that’s about all I can tell you.’ He declined to say whether or not Sanders would discuss the 2016 campaign during the press conference.” http://bit.ly/1DCXjVd

ICYMI: OBAMA TO WARREN-WING: YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US. Vicki Needham has more: “Support President Obama’s trade agenda — get a ticket to an elegant state dinner at the White House. Five congressional Democrats who have pledged their support for trade promotion authority legislation will don their black-tie best Tuesday night at a dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) and Ron Kind (Wis.), the only two Democrats to vote last week to approve fast-track legislation in the House Ways and Means Committee, are slated to attend the evening’s lavish festivities.” http://bit.ly/1ERHpNY

NEW JOB: BERNANKE. Schroeder: “Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is joining the bond fund Pimco as a senior adviser. The new position marks Bernanke’s second new gig in private finance this month, after agreeing to work for the hedge fund Citadel as an adviser.” http://bit.ly/1DX3cNk

NO ONE LIKES THE IRS. Bernie Becker has the story: “The Senate’s top two tax writers on Wednesday rolled out the tax reform advice they got from more than 1,400 outside groups and taxpayers.” http://bit.ly/1KuWFPt

PEREZ: MAKE ECONOMY MOVE LIKE MATCH.COM, via me: Labor Secretary Thomas Perez wants the Obama administration to be the economic version of a dating website. “Match.com: Our goal is to match jobseekers who want to punch their way to the middle class with businesses,” Perez said Wednesday at a speech in Washington. He added that U.S. officials need to “step up our game” and reevaluate the old models that ushered young people into the economy.

“We’ve got to get rid of the old models of train-and-pray where you train people for jobs and pray people will find them for those jobs,” Perez said at the forum, hosted by the center-left think tank Third Way. “If people aren’t hiring widget makers — we shouldn’t train people to be widget workers.” http://bit.ly/1bDCyCG

FWIW: Online dating terrifies me. I will never use it.

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