David Brancaccio

From APM American Public Media.

We're on government shutdown watch with the deadline less than two days away.

I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles.

Published reports today suggest that Democrats and President Trump are moving closer to a deal to avert a partial government shutdown starting the stroke of midnight Friday to Saturday.

Democrats are pushing reforms for immigration enforcement.

Marketplace's Nancy Marshall-Genzer has an update.

Let's do the numbers.

Up music.

S&P and Nasdaq futures are up by less than a tenth percent.

Dow futures are up half a percent at this point.

The 10-year interest rate steady this morning so far, 4.25 percent after the Federal Reserve yesterday, no surprise, decided to keep its interest rate steady.

Fed Chair Powell seems in no rush to lower rates anytime soon given tentative signs.

The U.S.

economy may be healing.

Crude oil traded in New York is up 2.2 percent to around $64.50 a barrel now.

But the European price, Brent crude, got very close to $70 a barrel for the first time since September, this after President Trump told Iran to make a nuclear deal or face military strikes.

Now to the many effects of President Trump's executive order from a year ago aimed at ending gender-affirming care for transgender people under the age of 19.

The administration has since launched investigations of several hospitals.

And last month, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule to turn off Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that deliver that care.

Now, that rule is not yet in effect.