This Week’s Agenda: Iowa Caucus, Payroll Tax Cut, Euro Zone Crisis

After an eventful weekend, GOP presidential candidates are gearing up for the influential  Iowa caucuses. Democrats on Capital Hill hope to pass a payroll tax cut in the face of Republican opposition. Abroad, the euro debt crisis continue to loom over the world economy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting  ahead of the Brussels summit on Friday to discuss greater fiscal coordination between European countries, and Italy’s new government looks to pass austerity measures to ease their debt. Joining the program is Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for WNYC and The Takeaway; and Marcus Mabry, editor-at-large of the  International Herald Tribune, which is the international edition of our partner The New York Times.