Before the agreement was announced, investment analysts were urging caution. Even with a possible deal, Charles Gabriel of Capital Alpha Partners foresees a continued battle over spending and the debt ceiling “that could continue to weigh on investors and the economy well into February or beyond.”

Senators may have acted at the last minute to avoid what economists had predicted would cause another recession, but they were hardly celebrating the milestone. “This marks another sad chapter in what has been the least productive Congress since 1947,” says Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in a statement. “Critical issues remain to be resolved, particularly the $500 billion in defense budget cuts looming over our nation’s military.”