OVERNIGHT MONEY: Vetting the Volcker Rule

Welcome to a federal holiday version of Overnight Money, your roundup of what's happened and what is scheduled to in the world of business and finance.

Tuesday’s Big Story: 

Washington's financial power players will come together Tuesday, as the new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) convenes for its third meeting ever. 

The group, led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and created as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, includes the heads of the Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, among others.

At Tuesday's meeting, the group could unveil its study and recommendations on the "Volcker Rule," which was named after Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman and White House adviser. 

The rule, which aims to rein in risky trading by banks, has been the subject of debate, with advocates calling it necessary to prevent another broad financial crisis, while critics argue it could hinder domestic companies and put them at a disadvantage globally.

The report is not technically due until Jan. 21, but the council could sign off on it at Tuesday's meeting, barring any last-minute tweaks. Once the report is finalized, financial regulators are supposed to take its recommendations under consideration when drafting regulations implementing the Volcker Rule

The FSOC will also discuss criteria for deeming firms as systemically significant, and also will receive an update on the widespread reported problems emerging during foreclosure proceedings nationwide.

What Else to Watch For:

Power Brunch?: Vice President Joe Biden is slated to meet with Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, late Tuesday morning.

Elsewhere…: Biden and Camp have other pressing business to attend to on Tuesday afternoon. The vice president is set to meet President Hu Jintao of China, who is coming to town for high-level meetings, as the Chinese president arrives at Andrews Air Force Base. And Camp’s panel is scheduled to have its organizational meeting, which was pushed back several days because of the Arizona shooting. 

Breaking Monday:

Preparing in the East: In what was billed as a rare interaction with the international media, China’s Hu recently signaled that a currency system dominated by the American dollar is a “product of the past.” Responding to written questions from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, Hu also pooh-poohed the idea that his country could better battle inflation by appreciating its currency and criticized, if indirectly, the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program. 

As the Journal put it, Hu’s responses “reflect a China that has grown more confident in recent years—especially in the wake of the global financial crisis, from which it emerged relatively unscathed.”

And the West: The New York Times finds the administration’s actions in the run-up to this week’s meetings were a preview to a more assertive posture. 

“Administration officials have now concluded that they can publicly challenge China on security and economic issues and still build a mature relationship,” The Times found.

Flipping the Calendar: Our Erik Wasson reports that the House GOP’s schedule for spending cuts may have been a bit too aggressive. House Republicans had wanted to vote this month to roll back some stimulus funds, but that attempt looks more likely to be folded into a measure to fund the government past March. 

Why the delay? GOP lawmakers and analysts threw out a handful of reasons, including the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and the assumption that Democrats would fully fund the current fiscal year during the recent lame-duck session.

What You Might Have Missed:

On the Money’s Monday:

The House Rules Committee expects to vote Wednesday on what would essentially be a spending ceiling for the last half of fiscal 2011. 

Biden’s tapping of Bruce Reed as his chief of staff could up the odds for a deficit reduction package. 

Max Baucus reaches out to the Chinese president on intellectual property issues. 

And the public thinks now’s the time to lock up a house.