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The U.S. Treasury expects to borrow $275 billion in the fourth quarter, an estimate that is $226 billion lower than previously estimated, according to a statement Monday. The estimate includes an end-of-quarter cash balance of $205 billion. Analysts said debt ceiling constraints are making it difficult for the government to project borrowing. Experts say the government will hit the debt ceiling in the first quarter unless Congress acts to allow borrowing. During the January-March quarter, Treasury said it expects to borrow $512 billion in net marketable debt with cash balance of $300. During the July-September quarter, Treasury borrowed $189 billion in net marketable debt and ended with a cash balance of $159 billion. The government had estimated borrowing of $96 billion for the quarter.

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The Russell 2000 fell sharply on Monday following a report that the House of Representatives was considering phasing in a cut to corporate taxes, rather than enacting them immediately. The index of small-capitalization companies was down 1.3%, on track for its biggest one-day drop since August. Bloomberg reported that the House was discussing a “gradual phase-in for the corporate tax-rate cut that President Donald Trump and Republican leaders want — a schedule that would have the rate reach 20 percent in 2022.” The Russell is more closely correlated to tax-reform news given its components tend to have more U.S. revenue exposure than their larger multinational peers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% on Monday while the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was off 0.3%.

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Facebook Inc. stock rose to a record intraday high in late afternoon trading Monday. Facebook shares were up as much as 1% to $179.66, as of p.m. Eastern. Stock in the social-networking company has risen 56.2% so far this year, as the S&P 500 index has gained 15.3%. The company is set to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the close. Facebook has beaten Wall Street expectations every quarter since its initial public offering in 2012, except for once in 2013 and again this year. Investors value the company at $521.8 billion, according to FactSet.

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Shares of AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. were down more than 6% during intraday trade on Monday. Late on Friday the theater exhibitor said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that one of its board members Jack Gao, senior vice president of Wanda Cultural Industrial Group, resigned from the board. AMC said Gao’s resignation was tied to his resignation from all positions with affiliations to AMC’s parent company Dalian Wanda Group Co.. AMC said on Monday that the board had declared a regular dividend of 20 cents per share for the third quarter. AMC will report third-quarter earnings after the bell on Nov. 9. Shares of AMC have declined nearly 59% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up 15% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up close to 19%.

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Influential Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta is leaving his own firm amid reports that he’s under the investigation by the special counsel probing Russian influence on the U.S. 2016 election. Tony Podesta, founder of the Podesta Group, is the brother of John Podesta, who was chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign. His firm did work for foreign clients in Ukraine and some of that work may now be under scrutiny, according to a report in Politico. The announcement of Podesta’s exit came the same day several former advisors of President Trump were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller on charges of money laundering and making false statements to federal authorities.

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Shares of Macy’s Inc. tumbled 4.9% in afternoon trade Monday toward the lowest close since July 2010, after Citigroup downgraded the department store chain, citing mounting industry challenges and the “significant pressure” Macy’s has seen on sales and margins. Analyst Paul Lejuez cut his rating to sell, after downgrading it to neutral from buy in March. Lejuez slashed his stock price target to $16, which is 14% below current levels, from $21. He said Macy’s no longer makes much money as a retailer, and fellow department store operator J.C. Penney Co. Inc.’s recent profit warning acts as a reminder of how challenging the retail business is. “In what is likely to be another promotional holiday season, we don’t believe [Macy’s] has found the right tools to offset negative store traffic and margin pressures,” Lejuez wrote in a note to clients. “And with [management’s] focus on solidifying its balance sheet, we believe there is real risk that the dividend could be cut in the future in favor of paying down debt.” The current implied dividend yield of 8.07% is well above the implied payout of the SPDR S&P Retail ETF of 1.62% and of the S&P 500 of 1.94%. Macy’s stock has plunged 48% year to date, while the retail ETF has lost 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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A federal court in Washington, D.C., is barring President Donald Trump from changing the government’s policy on the service of transgender people in the U.S. military, the Associated Press reported Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote Monday that transgender members of the military would likely win a lawsuit against Trump and his effort to change the policy and blocked the administration from reversing course, the AP reported. In August, Trump said he intended to scrap a 2016 policy that allowed transgender troops to serve openly, preferring to return to the pre-2016 policy under which troops could be discharged for being transgender.

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Shares of Sprint Corp. fell nearly 14% during intraday trade on Monday and T-Mobile US Inc. shares were down more than 5% after a report that Sprint owner Softbank Group plans to call off merger talks between the two U.S. mobile operators. A report from Nikkei Asian Review said the talks fell through as the two sides failed to agree on ownership of the would be combined entity. Softbank is expected to approach T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom as early as Tuesday to end negotiations, according to Nikkei. Shares of Sprint have declined nearly 25% in the year to date, but T-Mobile shares have risen more than 4%, while the S&P 500 index is up 15% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up close to 19%.

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