1 Major Issue That Will Dominate Wall Street This Week

One issue that is dominating Wall Street this week is the sequester, which is a pile of automatic federal spending cuts that are supposed to take effect on March 1st. Although it was originally supposed to happen on January 1st, it was pushed back to this Friday when Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell agreed to defer it. In order to avoid these spending cuts, Congress will have to compromise on a deficit-reduction plan by Friday.

A spokesman for the Majority Whip Dick Durbin said that the Senate is set to consider bills that would help avoid these cuts on either Tuesday or Wednesday. President Obama has said that it is up to the Republicans in Congress to compromise in order to avoid the sequester.

There has been blame back and forth in Washington regarding who is responsible for the sequester. Sen. John Hoeven (R, N.D.) has blamed the President for the delay, claiming that the Republicans have already come up with two bills to replace the sequester. Hoeven thinks that it President Obama who does not want to work with Republicans because of what he wants to get passed in the bill.