STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's What You Need To Know

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 15,962.32 (-32.43, -0.20%)
• S&P 500: 1,819.27 (-0.48, -0.03%)
• Nasdaq: 4,201.29 (+10.24, +0.24%)

And now the top stories:

• The Senate narrowly passed the House's bill that suspends the debt ceiling through March 15, 2015. "[Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell and [Sen. John] Cornyn, the two highest-ranking Senate Republicans, followed the lead of House Republican leadership in providing the votes needed to advance the bill. Both McConnell and Cornyn face primary challenges this spring, and the procedural votes will almost certainly be fodder in the campaigns," reports our Brett LoGiurato.
• Italy's government is on the verge of collapsing, as Prime Minister Enrico Letta faces criticism from Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence and leader of the party that heads up Letta's coalition government. The two had a "chilly meeting" today to discuss the possibility of a takeover.
• The U.S. Treasury posted a $10.4 billion budget deficit in January compared to a $2.4 billion surplus a year ago. Economists were looking for a $10 billion deficit.
• According to the USDA, profits for American farmers wall fall 27% in 2014.
• A new study from the New York Fed says the short-term unemployment rate - which has already recovered to pre-crisis levels - is a better predictor of wage growth than the headline unemployment rate. "Because total unemployment is just long-term unemployment plus short-term unemployment, the implication of these findings is that the focus on long-term unemployment may cause the Fed and others to underestimate wage growth," explained our Matthew Boesler.
• Dogecoin, everybody's favorite meme cryptocurrency, has surged 10% in the last 24 hours. Dogecoin is up 911% over the last 30 days, with one coin now worth $0.0019
• DON'T MISS: A Scary Debt Default Could Be The Best Thing To Happen In China Right Now »