America's consumers are happy but its CEOs are scared

Driving the news: The Business Roundtable's closely watched index of CEO confidence declined sharply from the prior quarter's reading, reflecting the biggest quarter-over-quarter decline since 2012. The lobbying group said increased geopolitical tensions, and specifically the trade war, were to blame.

• J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon: "You look at the business community — they are looking right now at Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, China and trade. All these [are] things that you have to incorporate into thinking about how you manage your global risks."
• Beth Ford, CEO of Land O' Lakes, said the lack of clarity around the fate of the trade agreement among the U.S., Canada and Mexico is causing uncertainty for business owners her company knows well: farmers.

But consumers aren't focused on these problems and haven't pulled back on spending. Indeed, consumers are expected to deliver a blockbuster holiday shopping season, even stronger than last year.

• "It's not that the consumer doesn't know [about these risks] ... they have jobs, their wages are going up — that's pretty good for them," Dimon said.
• Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Fox Business on Wednesday that "gangbusters" consumer spending will benefit the airline by way of strong travel demand this holiday season.

Between the lines: The Federal Reserve also pointed out the divergence in how businesses and consumers are responding to heightened uncertainty.

• "Household spending, supported by a strong job market and rising income and solid consumer confidence, has been the key driver of growth," Fed chair Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday.
• Meantime, Powell said, businesses around the country told the Fed that "uncertainty about trade policy has discouraged them from investing in their businesses."

The bottom line: The Fed's willingness to step in and trim borrowing costs amid these increased risks — as it did for the 2nd consecutive time on Wednesday — may comfort the CEOs who have been climbing a wall of worry.

• While the rate cut is great for many consumers (borrowers, not savers), it may not fend off the pain businesses are feeling from the trade war.
• "I don't think cutting rates will offset trade, personally," Dimon said.

Editor's note: This piece was corrected to show the company's name is Land O'Lakes.

• "After nearly a month of stonewalling, it appears clear that the President has chosen the path of defiance, obstruction, and cover-up," the letter reads.

The state of play: Several White House officials have told Axios' Alayna Treene that the administration has no plans of complying with the committees' demands for interviews or documents without a full House vote formally approving an impeachment inquiry.

The big picture: The Trump administration's initial refusal to turn over the whistleblower complaint on the president's interactions with Ukraine is what led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to finally support a formal impeachment inquiry.

Go deeper: Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry

• Johnson asked the Justice Department earlier this week to look into links between Ukraine and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. His letter questioned the narrative that Biden's actions in Ukraine had nothing to do with his son's connection.
• However, it was also discovered that he signed onto a 2016 letter that mirrored Biden's work to reform Ukraine's prosecutor general and judiciary.
• There is no evidence that Biden's reform work in Ukraine was to protect his son's business dealings, as the president and some of his allies allege, or that he committed any form of corruption.

The state of play: Sondland, a Trump political appointee who donated $1 million to the president's inaugural committee, denied that there was a quid pro quo between the Trump administration and Ukraine's government in a series of text messages that former Ukraine special envoy Kurt Volker provided to a group of House committees investigating the Trump-Ukraine matter.

• "I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign," Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, texted Sondland.
• Sondland texted back: "Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo's of any kind."
• The New York Times reported that Sondland's response came only after he spoke to the president.

Go deeper: House committees release texts from former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker