Gear up for the next big spectacle in Washington as the debt ceiling comes back into force this weekend following a two-year suspension. The deadline will curb the Treasury's capacity to issue new debt unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which seems far-fetched at the moment. GOP leadership contends that Democrats are in a spending free for all and will only support raising the debt ceiling if they promise major spending reforms and cutbacks.  This year’s spending spree alone will add a minimum of $250bn of annual interest expense if interest rates permanently stay below 3%. 

Amazon reported quarterly earnings after the bell yesterday, with revenues that were 25% higher than the same period last year. While that's pretty impressive in its own right, the percentage wasn't high enough to match analyst expectations. The e-commerce behemoth finished the quarter with $113B in revenue, compared to consensus estimates of $115B, prompting shares to slump 7%.

An inflation indicator that the Federal Reserve uses as its key guide rose 3.5% in June, a sharp acceleration that was nonetheless right around Wall Street expectations, the Commerce Department reported this morning.  That gain was slightly ahead of the 3.4% May increase and represents the biggest move since July 1991.