Wall Street seemed complacent last week when there was time to spare. But with less than a week before a possible U.S. default, investors are getting jittery.

The first warning sign: they're dumping small company stocks.

Associated Press business writer Chip Cutter explains, "[Small company] stocks usually fall much more than large-company stocks if the economy slows down or the stock market turns volatile. With the deadline for a debt deal less than a week away, the stocks that investors consider to be the riskiest are falling the most."

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