U.S. edges closer to deal on ending shutdown

A surge of optimism on Monday for a possible compromise to end the partial government shutdown and avoid a U.S. default as soon as this week got jolted by the sudden postponement of a White House meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders.
In a brief statement, the White House said the meeting announced earlier in the day was put on hold "to allow leaders in the Senate time to continue making important progress" toward a solution.

It was unclear if the development signaled a problem or was needed to give more time for talks between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, to finish an agreement that could win approval in the Senate and the House.

Negotiations heated up with the Democratic and Republican leaders signaling progress. Both Reid and McConnell took to the Senate floor to express optimism for a compromise on the twin priorities that they expected to be reasonable and acceptable to both sides.

Reid's tone remained positive as night fell over the Capitol.

"We've made tremendous progress," he said, saying that "everyone just needs to be patient" and that "perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day."

Key negotiators also maintained an upbeat posture and financial markets, which Washington is watching very closely considering their volatility over the political impasse, also ended the day higher with Wall Street heartened by news of a possible deal, especially on the debt limit.

At the same time, both sides noted that nothing had been finalized and the postponement of the meeting between congressional leaders and Obama and Vice President Joe Biden raised a new question mark in the process.

During a visit Monday to a local food pantry, Obama cited progress in the Senate negotiations but also warned of what he called continued partisan brinkmanship by House Republicans who "continue to think that somehow they can extract concessions by keeping the government shut down or by threatening default."

"My hope is a spirit of cooperation will move us forward over the next few hours," Obama said.

Source: CNN