Gridlock

(1) Acrimonious debate. (2) Is gridlock bullish or bearish? (3) A brief civics lesson. (4) Record deficit proves that gridlock didn’t work. (5) But it is working all too well now. (6) Washington’s political paralysis could be bad news for economy. (7) Will safe havens be safe if there is a deal? (8) The most likely scenario is a deal on debt and no deal on deficit. (9) A longer soft patch? (10) Firing vs. hiring. (11) Waiting for home prices to bottom.