The WSJ is reporting that some Senate Democrats are willing to repeal the tax on medical devices in a bid to end the budget shutdown. That could be the carrot that makes a deal happen. USD/JPY is rallying and stocks have rebounded.
Appearing with a group of so-called pragmatic Republicans, a group of lawmakers from the New Democrat coalition said Thursday they would support repealing the health-care law’s 2.3% tax on medical device sales if GOP lawmakers would agree to pass a spending bill keeping the government funded for the next six months.
Harry Reid has already spoken against it and Obama could threaten to veto it so watch out for that headline.
Separately, the NYT is reporting that Boehner has provided assurances on passing debt ceiling increase. They cite an anonymous lawmaker.
Speaker John A. Boehner has told colleagues that he is determined to prevent a federal default and is willing to pass a measure through a combination of Republican and Democratic votes, according one House Republican… The lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mr. Boehner had said he would be willing to violate the so-called Hastert Rule if necessary to pass a debt-limit increase. The informal rule refers to a policy of not bringing to the floor any measure that does not have a majority of Republican votes.
I’ll look for more details but those are the kind of headline you’re looking for if you want to buy risk trades.