Executives are grappling with whether the November election will stymie their investment and growth plans. A central variable: How high, or low, the corporate tax rate might go.

This summer’s dizzying political developments make it hard to pinpoint what could happen to the corporate tax rate. Vice President Kamala Harris has endorsed increasing the levy, currently at 21%, to 28%, echoing what the Biden administration has proposed. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, meanwhile, recently told executives he wanted a 20% corporate tax rate and has floated a levy as low as 15%. Neither may get the respective rates if their party doesn’t gain full power of Congress.

With the election less than three months away, a top question from company insiders is what rate to model for, tax advisers say. Their current response: around 25%.

Below, some of the best analysis and insight from WSJ writers and columnists, the Dow Jones Newswires team and occasionally beyond, on investing, the wealth-management business and more.

With its transformation into a pure retail operation only last year, Valvoline is continuing to increase market share and efficiency.

From Dow Jones Newswires

The total expected U.S. interest-rate cuts currently priced in by money markets for 2024 looks overdone, with a larger 50 basis-point reduction in September remaining doubtful, says Kit Juckes, chief global FX strategist at Societe Generale Research in a note. U.S. money markets currently price in 103 basis points of rate cuts in 2024, Refinitiv data show, suggesting the Fed would reduce rates by 50 basis points in at least one of its remaining three meetings this year. "The front end of the rates curve has too many rate cuts priced in over the next 6 months, unless the economy slows pretty sharply," Juckes says. There is huge uncertainty about how much the economy will slow, he says. ([email protected])

The U.S. economy "is doing just fine" and there is no reason for the Fed to rush cutting rates, Apollo's Torsten Slok says in a note, pointing to data indicating that layoffs are at record low levels and jobless claims could decline. "The bottom line is that the rise in the unemployment rate is not driven by people getting fired," he says. "Put differently, we are not in a recession, and it is debatable if the labor market is softening." Slok warns that "cutting interest rates too aggressively runs the risk of triggering another run-up in inflation." On Friday, Fed Chair Powell teed up an initial rate cut in September. ([email protected]; @ptrevisani)

The chief of $73 billion-asset Kestra Holdings explains how focusing on well-established, high-quality advisers has bolstered the firm’s growth.

It is becoming less lucrative to speculate on luxury watches, creating a knock-on effect in brands’ stores.

Dealers say many car shoppers who are interested in going electric still want the secur.ity of a gas engine.

Top bankers weigh in frequently on issues from immigration to tariffs but almost never contribute directly to presidential campaigns.

Finding bargains is the new status symbol with some younger shoppers.

Buy Side from WSJ: The Best Everyday Sunscreens, According to Dermatologists

The Wealth Adviser Briefing covers topics of interest to wealth managers, financial planners and other advisers. The content is curated by the Dow Jones Newswires team using articles from the Newswires, Barron's, MarketWatch and The Wall Street Journal. The briefing is delivered to subscribers by email each workday morning at 6:30 a.m. ET. You can sign up here for email delivery. 

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