Econintersect: At least there are some meetings going on, proposals are being exchanged – but no economic reports were issued today from US Census on Retail Sales or Business Inventories, and no Producer Price Index from the BLS.
The month-over-month expectations for the data not released today:
- September Retail sales down 0.1% to 0.2%;
- Business Inventories for August up 0.2%;
- September Producer Price Index up o.2%.
The good news is that Republicans and Democrats are talking. Talking is only progress if one considers that not talking is not progress – but real progress is getting the government up and running.
The White House and House Republicans have committed to talking about ways to avoid a default on U.S. debt, the first concrete sign of a potential compromise since the government shut down 11 days ago. The looming question is whether a short-term agreement to raise the debt ceiling will come at the expense of reopening the government and the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who remain furloughed. On Thursday, House Republican leaders presented a plan to their conference to raise the debt ceiling enough to allow the U.S. to continue borrowing money for six weeks with no other policy conditions. In exchange, they sought a promise from Mr. Obama to engage in negotiations to continue lowering the deficit. The proposal was the first sign of any legislation that might head off a default when the U.S. exhausts its borrowing authority on Oct. 17.
Two clocks are ticking in Washington these days—and neither can be confused with the sound of brain cells working. The first is the government shutdown, well into its second week. And having backed himself— and the country— into this crisis, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) can’t seem to get out until the second clock rings when the Treasury runs out of cash and a debt ceiling bill becomes all important. That will take time and some footwork. To calm Wall Street and his moderates, Boehner Thursday proposed a six-week expansion of the Treasury’s borrowing authority to avert default. But this also requires him to sustain the shutdown for weeks more despite an increasingly restless Republican Conference.
