It’s been a blockbuster week for investors, with earnings, the Fed’s first meeting of 2023 and economic data.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., politicians remained focused on the debt ceiling, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken was on a trip to meet leaders from China and the Middle East.
Here are three things to watch in politics this week:
Biden, McCarthy discuss debt ceiling
President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will meet at the White House this week to discuss a range of issues.
Their talks are likely to focus on a brewing political battle over raising the nation’s debt ceiling that will reach a fever pitch in late summer and early fall.
Republicans want to see state entitlement programs cut, while Democrats believe now is not the time to cut funding during a potential recession.
“I want to find a reasonable and responsible way to raise the debt ceiling while reining in this runaway spending,” McCarthy said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. “I want to sit down together and make an agreement that we can move forward and put us on a balanced path [and] Don’t put any of our debts at risk at the same time. “
Focus Fed meeting
After the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak and answer questions on Wednesday.
Powell has said rate hikes are needed to fight inflation, but he has faced criticism from progressives who fear the central bank could tip the economy into recession.
In addition, other economic indicators will also be released, capping off a busy week for markets.
On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release employment data for January. “Barron’s Weekly” reported that economists expect the US to add 190,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate to rise to 3.6% from 3.5%.
Second.Bliken heads to China, Middle East
Secretary of State Tony Blinken is traveling abroad this week and will travel to Beijing, where he is likely to urge Chinese officials not to support Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that some Chinese companies backed by the Chinese Communist Party have been helping Russian companies circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls and may provide non-lethal support to Russia.
Before heading to Beijing, Blinken will travel to the Middle East where, according to his State Department arrangement, he will meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Abbas.
There, Blinken is expected to consult with leaders on escalating tensions and violence in the region.
Kevin Cirilli is a visiting media fellow at the Atlantic Council Center on Global China and Purdue University’s Krach Institute for Technological Diplomacy.Follow him on LinkedIn here.
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