If K Street has seemed a little less busy over the past few months, there’s a good reason for that.

The top 50 lobbying spenders spent $30 million less in the second quarter of this year than they did during the first quarter, according to lobbying disclosure releases. Overall, they spent $168 million between April and June.

In many cases, the corporations and trade groups that make up the top lobbying spenders made deep cuts to their lobbying efforts. AT&T (NYSE:T) went from spending $7.05 million during the first quarter to $3.49 million in the second, a nearly 50% cut. Also making $1 million-plus cuts were companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Novartis (NYSE:NVS), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Read 

Political fundraising events are often star-studded affairs. The one being planned for President Obama by Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour and producer Harvey Weinstein is no exception.

The guest list has not been made public, but Meryl Streep and Michael Kors were among the attendees at a prior Obama fundraising event Wintour co-hosted with actress Sarah Jessica Parker, The Hill reports.

The event will take place on August 6 at Weinstein’s estate and reportedly cost a whopping $35,800 per plate. Read 

If recent polling is any indication, all the campaign ads and candidate visits that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have rolled out are preaching to the choir.

A recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News found there are fewer undecided voters than there were in the past three elections.

Only 6% of those polled said there was a good chance they would change their mind on who they were voting for. Another 13% said it was possible they might change their mind, but unlikely. That leaves less than 1 in 5 voters who say there’s any chance they will change their mind. Read 

Former President George W. Bush has kept a low profile since leaving office in 2009, and don’t expect him to jump back into the spotlight any time soon.

The latest proof that Bush wants to stay low key? He has declined an invitation from the Republican National Convention to attend. Bush made the announcement through an e-mail sent by his spokesman.

When asked if Bush had been invited to speak at the convention as well as attend, the spokesman said that Bush had declined before any speaking details had been discussed. Read 

With today’s announcement that actor Morgan Freeman has given $1 million to the Obama-supporting super PAC Priorities Action USA today, some Democratic supporters are hopeful that it’s the start of a positive trend.  With Romney out-raising Obama, and Romney’s super PAC running circles around Obama’s, they’re hoping some Hollywood glitz, glamor, and money can turn the tide.

Some big names in Tinseltown have already written some big checks on behalf of Obama. DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has given $2 million to Priorities Action USA, comedian Bill Maher has given $1 million, director Steven Spielberg has given $100,000, and Lost creator J.J. Abrams and his wife have given $100,000.

While these are significant sums of money, they pale in comparison to what Romney’s super PAC, Restore Our Future, has done. Restore Our Future raised a record $20 million last month. Romney’s super PAC has been buoyed by large donations from the likes of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, former Swift Boat Veterans for Truth financier Bob J. Perry, and New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. Chairman James S. Davis. Read 

Financial service providers should be very fearful if both President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Democratic senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren win their elections in November.

Now, I’m not trying to rant against Warren. I’m merely pointing out that her statements and record indicate that she’s not a friend to financial service firms — and that means that investors should take heed.

There’s a reason she isn’t running the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite having been appointed to oversee its construction. That’s because she would never get enough votes in the Senate to confirm her to that position. In addition, she wasn’t recess-appointed the way CFPB chief Richard Cordray was because she’s too polarizing. Obama would have gotten significant pushback from his financial services donors. Read