Back in April, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump’s three adult children (minus Tiffany, naturally) were desperately trying to get their father to listen to the so-called “globalists” in the White House and to ignore nationalist, anti-immigration, hard-right policies espoused by people like then senior adviser Steve Bannon. Remarkably, this had less to do with what they felt was best for the country, and more to do with what was best for the Trump Organization. “The fundamental assessment is that if they want to win the White House in 2020, they’re not going to do it the way they did in 2016, because the family brand would not sustain the collateral damage,” a Republican operative said at the time. “It would be so protectionist, nationalist, and backward-looking that they’d only be able to build in Oklahoma City or the Ozarks.”

It turns out the Trump kids were right to worry: according to a new report from NBC News, in many areas where people would be offended by, say, a call to sharply restrict both legal and illegal immigration, business has suffered. In Scotland, revenue at Trump’s Turnberry resort fell 16 percent in 2016, with losses totaling about $23 million; at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, losses increased 28 percent to $18.4 million, while revenue fell by 12 percent. His public golf courses outside L.A. have seen “double-digit drops in revenue.” Bookings are down at Trump SoHo, where pro-athletes reportedly refused to stay, and nightly rates have been cut from $700 to $400. Ivanka Trump’s clothing line canceled a deal to expand to Japan. And according to a survey of luxury consumers by BAV Consulting, the number of people “equating the Trump brand with prestige” dropped 40 percent. Luckily, the family business is booming in other areas:

Trump properties being used for presidential business and by Washington political jockeys have . . . seen their revenues increase. Trump’s 128-room Mar-a-Lago vacation resort in Florida has been a frequent location for him to decamp to and conduct presidential business, hosting state visits by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Revenues jumped in 2016 at Mar-a-Lago from $29.7 million to $37.3 million, according to Trump's financial disclosure forms. The private club doubled its membership fee after the inauguration, from $100,000 to $200,000 . . .

Trump’s new hotel in Washington, D.C., turned a $2 million profit in four months, according to documents the government released this summer, well surpassing the company’s projected $2 million loss. The Pennsylvania Avenue hotel has become the de facto power watering hole, serving up a signature cocktail of politics, business and access . . .

The Secret Service, which is sworn to protect the president and his family, has become a frequent customer of Trump businesses. In July, The Washington Post revealed that the State Department had spent over $15,000 at taxpayers’ expense to book 19 rooms at the new Trump hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, when members of the Trump family were headlining the grand opening of the tower in late February.

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Maybe Wilbur Ross had a totally valid reason for transferring $2 billion in assets right before joining the Trump administration

As Donald Trump will happily tell you, nearly all of the members of his Cabinet are super rich, and that is not by accident. But of all the millionaires and billionaires surrounding him, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stands out from the pack not just for being uber wealthy, but for consistently appearing to impersonate 19th century robber Barron who’d be more at home with John Jacob Astor and Andrew Carnegie than Gary Cohn and Betsy DeVos. Since joining the administration, Ross, who made his billions outsourcing U.S. jobs, has shown up to hear speeches by his populist president sporting $500 velvet slippers with custom Commerce Department embroidery; described a U.S. airstrike in Syria as “after-dinner entertainment”; and spoken approvingly of the lack of protesters in a country where protesters are executed. Prior to becoming a public servant, he served as the president of a secret Wall Street fraternity and complained that the “1 percent is being picked on for political reasons.” And now, according to Forbes, there are questions about a couple billion dollars that he conveniently did not have to disclose to the federal government.

. . . between the November election and January inauguration, [Ross] quietly moved a chunk of assets into trusts for his family members, leaving more than $2 billion off of his financial disclosure report—and therefore out of the public eye. Ross revealed the existence of those assets, and the timing of the transfer, when Forbes asked why his financial disclosure form listed fewer assets than he had previously told the magazine he owned. The hidden assets raise questions about whether the Secretary of Commerce violated federal rules and whether his family owns billions in holdings that could create the appearance of conflicts of interest. Federal law requires incoming cabinet members to disclose assets they currently own, as well as any that produced income during the current and previous calendar years, even if they no longer own the assets. Ross says he followed all rules. But how someone could apparently hold $2 billion in assets, without producing big income that would show up on a financial disclosure report, raises more questions than answers. Three months before the 2016 election, Ross’s assistant described his portfolio to Forbes as a mix that would theoretically throw off plenty of cash: $1.3 billion of municipal bonds, $1.3 billion worth of interests in general and limited partnerships, $550 million of equities, $225 million of art, $180 million in cash and $120 million worth of real estate.

That adds up to $3.7 billion. Last year, Forbes asked for documentation to prove the existence of those assets, received nothing in return, and ultimately estimated Ross’ fortune at a more conservative $2.9 billion for its annual Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, published in October. This year, the Secretary of Commerce said he would dig up a breakdown of the assets he transferred into trusts, but he never sent anything. It is unclear whether he cited accurate figures either year. Ross gave some clues about the structure of the trusts. “I’m not the beneficiary of them,” he said. “That’s the point. This is set up for children and things like that.” Are his children the only beneficiaries? “Yes, well, and some third parties.” What are the third parties? “It’s a complicated story, but there are children from former marriages, things like that, that are not actually my children but who are beneficiaries.” His wife’s two children? “No, others. We’ve both had a couple of marriages, as you probably know.” He said no one outside of his family is a beneficiary of the trusts. But he did not answer more than a dozen follow-up questions, including how many trusts there are, whether he can reclaim the assets after he leaves government, and whether the trusts could pay him income in the future.

We’re sure time will reveal that all of this business was totally above board.

Trump crows about crashing health-care stocks

The 45th president of the United States doesn’t just like to take credit for the market rally; he also apparently enjoys tanking shares of individual companies. Discussing his decision to abruptly end Affordable Care Act subsidies, Trump said at a Cabinet meeting on Monday that the payments were “a subsidy for the insurance companies. What they gave the insurance companies—take a look at their stocks. Take a look at where there stocks were when Obamacare was originally approved.” That followed a Saturday tweet in which Trump excitedly told his followers, “Health Insurance stocks, which have gone through the roof during the ObamaCare years, plunged yesterday after I ended their Dems windfall!”

Trump’s billionaire buddy tosses the Weinstein Company a lifeline

As you’ve probably heard, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been accused by more than three-dozen women of sexual harassment and assault, with more alleged victims coming forward literally every day. Because being associated with a serial abuser—whose abuse was seemingly acknowledged in his employment contract—is typically bad for business, the movie studio Harvey co-founded with his brother is reportedly in the process of working out a deal to sell off part or all of its assets. And its savior is a familiar face, at least in the once hallowed halls of the White House.

Bloomberg reports that Colony Capital, an investment firm run by longtime Trump pal Tom Barrack has offered T.W.C. a “financial lifeline.” “We will help return the company to its rightful iconic position in the independent film and television business,” Barrack said in a statement on Monday. Speaking for the Weinstein Company, which fired Harvey days after the first of two bombshell stories described his habit of allegedly inviting young actresses to his hotel room and requesting a naked massage, board member Tarak Ben Ammar said the company “believe[s] that Colony’s investment and sponsorship will help stabilize the Company’s current operations, as well as provide comfort to our critical distribution, production and talent partners around the world. Colony’s successful experience and track record in media and entertainment will be invaluable to the Company as we move forward.”

Down in D.C., it’s hard to know how Trump will react to the news. On the one hand, he seemed to revel in the scandal, potentially due to Weinstein’s long history of backing Hillary Clinton and other Democrats; “I’ve known Harvey Weinstein for a long time. I’m not at all surprised to see it,” he said. On the other, he has a soft spot for people accused of decades of sexual harassment.

Anthony Scaramucci’s next act includes stints on The View, solving the the student-loan crisis

This sounds like it will end well:

“I’m not pregnant with a kid—I’m pregnant with an idea”

And now, a respite from the unceasing drumbeat of doom in the form of a Wall Street story that feels downright quaint in these strange and disturbing times. In fact, it seems like the ideal candidate for an off-Broadway play in three acts:

Act I: Wall Street “hot shot,” a.k.a. guy who was once accused of running a pump-and-dump scheme, goes to dinner with his model girlfriend, who tells him she’s pregnant. Minutes later she reveals, “I’m not pregnant with a kid—I’m pregnant with an idea,” which happens to be a marketing business she needs $50,000 to get off the ground.

Act II: He thinks about it for a few seconds and says no. She therefore throws hot tea in his face, which upsets him because it’s “really disrespectful to do that at a restaurant [he] dines at a lot.” They part ways.

Act III: She drives his Mercedes S400 hybrid into a pool.

Elsewhere!

The Crash of 87, from the Wall Street Players Who Lived It (Bloomberg)

Early Bitcoin Investor Has Some Advice on How Much Money to Hold in Bitcoin (Bloomberg)

IBM Launches Blockchain Banking (Fortune)

Trump to Meet With Yellen Thursday to Discuss Fed Chief Renomination (W.S.J)

Mnuchin won’t fill No. 2 Treasury post as Brooks opts out of the running (Politico)

Wag, the ‘Uber for Dog-Walking,’ Is Drawing Uber-Like Scrutiny (Bloomberg)

Jared Kushner’s Family Is Screwed, and It’s All Boy Wonder’s Fault (The Hive)

Only Half of Puerto Rico’s Banks Are Open (CNN Money)

Small Endowments May Get to Invest in Bridgewater Associates (Dealbook

Cops: Florida Man Googled “How to Rob a Bank” Before Robbing a Bank (The Smoking Gun)