Republicans will hold their next debate in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday. Maggie Haberman, senior political writer for Politico thinks this is a make or break moment for Rick Perry. "If Perry has a bad performance," Haberman said, "it'll be virtually impossible for him to come back." Herman Cain's performance will also be closely watched as he is running very high right in the polls now. If Perry falters, could Cain be a valid challenger to Romney? In response to the GOP's debate, Democrats began their Project New West summit on Sunday, also in Vegas.

In testimony before a Congressional committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned lawmakers that the economic recovery U.S. "is close to faltering." Bernanke said the central bank was prepared to do more to bolster the economy, but that Congress needed to do more to encourage growth. In June, Bernanke had said, "growth seems likely to pick up in the second half of the year." Bernanke's grim assessment comes after the economy barely grew in the first half of the year, and there were no new jobs in August. Consumer confidence fell this summer to the lowest point since the recession.

The Occupy Wall Street protests continue in lower Manhattan today. Demonstrators are protesting perceived excessive greed by the super-wealthy and economic inequality as epitomized by Wall Street. The protests have grown in popularity over the last three weeks, and similar events are happening all over the country, including cities like Boston and Miami. On Monday, The Takeaway spoke with J.A. Myerson, from the media team for the Occupy Wall Street movement, about why he's protesting and what future he sees for the movement.

It's Monday morning, which means we're looking at the agenda for the week ahead. President Obama will make a west coast trip this week, hitting Seattle, the San Francisco Bay area, San Diego, Los Angeles and Denver, raising funds for his re-election campaign and advocating for his jobs bill. Back in Washington, D.C., Congress is in the midst of another stalemate over government funds. Meanwhile, some key economic indicators will be released this week, including home sales figures and consumer confidence reports.

This week, Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve will hold a rare two-day meeting to decide on interest rates, which are currently close to zero. Meanwhile, President Obama will release details of his deficit reduction plan this morning, and one key component is taxing the wealthy, which has many Republicans screaming "class warfare." The Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting begins tomorrow, and the primary topic of discussion will be jobs, as unemployment and poverty prove to be an ever-increasing global problem. Later in the week, the Palestinian Authority will ask the United Nations Security Council for full membership, which the U.S. has already said they will veto.

As the financial crisis in the euro zone has continued to spiral in recent months, Europe may be moving closer centralizing coordination of debt and spending policies. Some global financial officials are endorsing a central European financial authority, with powers to tax, issue bonds, and approve budgets, as a way to combat inefficiencies in dealing with economic strife. Such a change could make Europe's 17-nation economic union into a sort of United States of Europe.

Labor Day weekend got off to a rough start this year with some pretty dismal jobs numbers. The economy created a net gain of zero jobs last month. President Obama will surely use that troubling statistic to drive home his message in his jobs speech this Thursday evening. Many different solutions have been offered to help the economy recover. Could "buying American" be the fix we need to create jobs? Anders Lewendal, a general contractor in Bozeman, Montana, is trying just that as he constructs a home built mostly from "all American" materials. 

President Obama announced his choice for the new head of the Council of Economic Advisers: Princeton University professor Alan B. Krueger. The 50-year-old most recently served as chief economist for the United States Treasury — those credentials might make for a quick Congressional approval.

We're all witnessing a historical moment in the Middle East, as Libya prepares for the end of Moammar Gadhafi’s rule. And while the revolution that has taken six months to occur is in many ways remarkable, Americans may also be in the midst of our own, quieter moment in history: a lost decade. The recession has made it so that young people in particular are having a very difficult time beginning their careers, starting families and buying homes — so they're delaying doing those things. The unemployment rate is hovering at 9.1 percent, and for people between the ages of 16 and 19, it was 25 percent in July. For those ages 20-24, it was 14.6 percent.

The nation's debt crisis has all eyes on the politicians on Capitol Hill. But we wanted to know how the debt crisis is playing out in different cities across the country — what local fears and concerns are, and what people have to say about what's happening in the District of Columbia. We headed to Denver, Colo., Detroit, Mich., and Miami, Fla. to hear what people have to say about the current debt crisis.

The August 2 deadline for Congress to agree on a budget deal and avoid defaulting is looming uncomfortably close. Last night, President Obama and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said tonight that congressional leaders of both parties have agreed on a plan to lift the debt ceiling. They will present the plan to their caucuses this morning, and hope for the measure to pass through votes by both the House and Senate, in order to avoid a U.S. default by August 2.

The methodical killing of over 90 people by a gunman in Norway over the weekend has gripped the world with horror. The accused, Anders Behring Breivik, is currently in police custody, and has said he acted alone. Marcus Mabry, editor-at-large of The International Herald Tribune, the international edition of The New York Times, believes this tragic event has made Europe aware of a different kind of threat that they never knew was out there - extremist right-wing groups.

European leaders came to an agreement yesterday to help keep Greece and the rest of the euro zone from falling further into financial crisis. Greece will receive a second bailout, in the amount of 109 billion euros, or $157 billion. The move by the euro zone comes as Ireland and Portugal are still teetering on economic turmoil. The European Financial Stability Facility, the euro zone's rescue fund, will be given broad new powers to assist countries that have not yet been bailed out. It is unclear how French and German citizens, who have opposed any bailout, will react to the deal.

Last month, New York State passed the Marriage Equality Act and became the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage. And starting this Sunday, July 24, gay partners can marry, with an estimated 66,524 couples expected to wed in New York over the next three years. This historic event will have impact beyond the issue of civil rights: Gay couples will see a variety of financial changes, too. If trickle-down economics is about the impact of economic policy on the individual, then this is the trickle-up economics of gay marriage–how a decision two people make willchange insurance, taxes, businesses, state revenues, and economic policy.

The International Monetary Fund has a new managing director. Her name is Christine Lagarde, and she is the first woman to head the IMF, taking over for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Her reign begins with some obstacles, namely Greece on the brink of defaulting. 

Robert Gates will step down as Secretary of Defense this week, with Leon Panetta taking over. Panetta will have a lot on his plate, starting with the start of U.S. troops withdrawing from Afghanistan later this week. Noel King, managing producer for The Takeaway, looks at what obstacles are in store for Panetta as he begins his reign as Defense Secretary. 

President Obama will meet with Congressional leaders to try and come to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, or face going into default. Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, looks at the economic effects this on-going debate could have if a conclusion is not reached soon. 

Greece's financial woes continue to teeter on the brink of collapse as they face the possibility of becoming the first Euro-zone country to default. Finance ministers gave the fledgling nation two weeks to shape up its finances or face not receiving anymore bailout money. On top of this, Prime Minister George Papandreou faces a vote of confidence in Parliament today, and the result of that could have major consequences as to which direction the country will be going.

All the jawing and insult throwing has ceased for the time being as negotiations heat up on Capitol Hill over the debt ceiling. Vice President Joe Biden said there are four meetings scheduled, and "now we're getting down to the really hard stuff." Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington Correspondent, says Congress would love to get an agreement by the 4th of July—way ahead of the deadline in August. 

As Washington tries to get the debt ceiling squared away, the Federal Reserve will meet on Wednesday to discuss interest rates. Housing numbers have been consistently awful for some time now, with no sense of relief in sight. Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, looks at what we can expect from Wednesday's meeting, and whether or not it's likely that the Fed will decide to leave interest rates close to zero.

Republican presidential hopefuls debated last night in New Hampshire, one of the early states that is important to win in the primaries along with Iowa. The two states are the first to hold presidential contests. The influence of Iowa and New Hampshire have made candidates pander to those states' needs, which can be markedly different than the needs of the majority of the United States. David Leonhardt, economics columnist for The New York Times explains.

The GOP will see it's first major debate with all its prominent players in New Hampshire today. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum are all expected to participate. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, is most interested in how Bachmann and Santorum try to "out-conservative" each other to gain the following of those who don't support Mitt Romney. A topic that will surely be a key part of the debate will be the poor state of the economy. A set of key economic indicators is set to be released this week. Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, is expecting retail sales to fall, and a stock market finishing down for six weeks in a row is certainly not helping either.