It's a busy week for investors as earnings and economic data flood in. But as markets contend with a mixed economic picture, there are some political developments worth paying attention to as well.
Here are three major political stories to watch in the week ahead:
Biden expected to announce 2024 reelection campaign
This week, President Biden is set to formally announce that he's seeking reelection in 2024, which could set up a potential 2020 rematch against former President Trump.
A new NBC News poll found that 70% of Americans do not think Biden should run for president in 2024, and of those respondents, half cited his age, 80, as a "major" reason why. At the same time, 60% of Americans don't want Trump, who is 76, to run.
Biden has a six percentage point enthusiasm gap — 41% of Americans said they'd back Biden for reelection versus 47% who said they'd back the Republican nominee for president.
Polling suggests that Republicans are overwhelmingly backing Trump despite his legal woes after being indicted earlier this month for alleged crimes connected to hush money payments.
Trump is the clear frontrunner for the GOP with two-thirds of Republicans saying they're standing behind the former president as he battles prosecutors, the NBC News poll found. He's also ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce a 2024 bid, with 46% of GOPers surveyed backing Trump versus 31% backing DeSantis.
Debt ceiling standoff continues
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to shore up the votes within the Republican caucus to back his debt ceiling plan. But it's unclear whether he has the votes.
Even if McCarthy can muster the vote in the House, which could come as soon as this week, his proposal appears to be dead on arrival in the Senate.
McCarthy wants to cut spending while raising the debt ceiling for about a year by $1 trillion, whereas Democrats don't want to negotiate with the budget cuts. That has Biden and McCarthy teetering on the brink with no planned breakthrough.
Economists predict Washington has at least six more weeks before the US defaults on its debt — which stands at about $31.4 trillion.
If McCarthy can't find the votes for his own plan, expect even more brinkmanship in the weeks ahead, even as all factions predict the debt limit will eventually be raised.
South Korea's president to visit the White House
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit Washington this week and meet with President Biden. The meeting comes as tensions in the Asia Pacific continue to mount, particularly between the US and China.
As part of Yoon's meetings in Washington, the Financial Times reported that the US will urge him to not backfill China's chip orders with South Korea's production should China restrict US chip manufacturer Micron (MU).
Click here for politics news related to business and money
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
