Npr

The unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent. But the news failed to calm already jittery stock markets around the world.

"If consumers are dead in the water and businesses are not going to expand, if government is out of the equation by concerns of debt and deficit, then it's unlikely we're going to get any strong growth."

After the financial crisis, the global economy rebounded. But that growth has now stalled and some economists say the global economic situation is as bad now as it has been at any point since 2008.

The bill now moves to the Senate, which isn't likely to vote on the measure until Tuesday, according to reports.

The House began to debate the compromise on the floor Monday afternoon. House leaders portrayed the bill as a far-from-perfect first step in changing the debate in Washington about the national debt.

The message many analysts are bound to take away is that — to a large degree — the tail is wagging the dog, namely members linked to the Tea Party.