The week starts with all eyes in Washington and the possibility of the a government shutdown. Congress has so far failed to approve legislation that would provide funding for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

Hard-line Republicans are opposing the proposed bills and pushing for bigger budget cuts. The Senate will try to avoid a shutdown by approving a short-term spending bill that also would have to be passed by the House of Representatives.

If the spending bills aren't approved by Sept. 30, millions of government employees won't get paid, there could be furloughs in Social Securities and several activities of the federal branch will be suspended with impacts on lives for all Americans, such as national park closures and even flight delays.

Strikes

After almost 150 days of strike, Hollywood writers reached a tentative agreement with studios to go back to work. Members of the writers union still need to ratify the agreement in a vote expected for the coming days.

But the strike of auto workers enters its third week. On Friday, employees of parts distribution centers of General Motors and Stellantis joined the walkout. Ford was spared as talks with the automaker advanced, the union said. More than 18,000 workers are now on strike.

President Joe Biden plans to join picket line in Michigan on Tuesday. The next day, former President Donald Trump will give a speech in Detroit to auto workers.

GOP Debate

The leading Republican presidential candidates will debate for the second time on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

Fox Business is hosting the GOP primary debate. Trump will again skip the debate to give his competing prime-time speech in Detroit.

This comes as two polls released by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News showed that Trump expanded his lead over his Republican primary opponents.

Biden Speech

Biden will travel to Arizona on Thursday to deliver a speech that will focus on democracy and also pay tribute to the late John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate who represented the state in the U.S. Senate for more than three decades.

In the speech, Biden will discuss "the work we must do together to strengthen our democracy," the White House said Thursday.

Economy

In the economic front, the most relevant data coming up this week is the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index for August, which will be released Thursday.

The PCE is an inflation gauge followed very closely by the Federal Reserve to decide on interest rate hikes. In July, the 12-month inflation measured by the index was at 3.3%, above the Fed's annual target of 2%.

Fed officials have signaled that the bank may raise the U.S. rate once again this year after maintaining it unchanged in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% in the Sept. 20 meeting.

New home sales data will be released Tuesday. In July, sales rose to a 17-year high, surprising economists and despite higher mortgage rates.

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