The Daily Update: Infrastructure Talks / Pret Index

Over the weekend a senior White House adviser said that while President Biden is still eager to get his signature infrastructure deal over the line, he is willing to let negotiations with the GOP play out a little longer. Biden has already lowered the size of the initial infrastructure proposal from USD2.25tn to USD1.7tn to try to meet Republicans who are concerned about its size and definition. The paring down from the initial bill was a counter to the Republicans offer of USD560bn.

Cedric Richmond, the White House senior adviser, said on Sunday that Biden ‘Wants a deal. He wants it soon, but if there’s meaningful negotiations taking place in a bipartisan manner, he’s willing to let that play out’, however he warned that ‘he will not let inaction be the answer. And when he gets to the point where it looks like that is inevitable, you’ll see him change course’.

It's not just the size of the infrastructure deal that is the sticking point. The two sides are also far apart on how they view infrastructure. As Republican Senator Collins said ‘I think negotiations should continue, but it’s important to note that there are some fundamental differences here, and at the heart of the negotiations is defining the scope of the bill. What is infrastructure?’. She added ‘We, Republicans, tend to define infrastructure in terms of roads, bridges, seaports and airports and broadband. The Democratic definition seems to include social programs that have never been considered part of core infrastructure’.

Plus, since discovering The Pret Index on Bloomberg we find ourselves strangely drawn to looking at it on a daily basis. So, a quick update. People are slowly getting back into the office for part of their working week, with Mondays and Fridays looking to be the chosen days to work from home. City of London Prets are now at about 50% of their pre-covid levels, however sales are as much as 30% higher on the three middle days of the week as they are on the other two.