The two sides are locked in a seemingly endless tug-of-war over budget issues. Again and again they say they’ll work together for the greater good. But when it comes down to making actual decisions about money, it’s a …
debt ceiling
Things Are Bad Unless You’re Amazon, Starbucks or Expedia
The markets have been sinking steadily, fed on a diet of weak economic data — GDP growth in the second quarter came in at an anemic 1.3% — and debt ceiling deadlock (which, finally, appears to have been broken). Yet, in the …
Did President Obama’s Remarks Move the Markets?
The financial markets paid little attention to remarks by President Obama on the debt ceiling debate this morning. Stocks and bonds basically treaded water even after a bombshell report from the U.S. Commerce Department that …
GDP Report: What It Tells Us About the Debt
The bad news just keeps coming.
The U.S. economy grew even less than expected in the second quarter, at a rate of 1.3%, down from what many economists predicted would be 1.8% or higher. The reasons for the continued lackluster performance haven’t changed. Consumers, squeezed by higher gas and other prices, are buying less of …
As Default Looks More Likely, a Primer on Its Possible Consequences
A couple weeks ago, TIME Moneyland ran a piece about what could happen to regular Americans if the U.S. government defaults. At the time, most of us here thought an actual default was unlikely and that Congress and President Obama would find some solution to raise the debt ceiling. But with the Senate and the House still unable to reach …
Derivatives to the Rescue? How ‘Betting Against’ the U.S. Could Prevent A Default Crisis
Wednesday’s plunge in the markets signaled that the impasse over the debt ceiling, if it continues, will eventually trigger a substantial market sell-off. Until now, there had been surprising complacency among investors, who seemed to assume that after all the noise and haggling there would, of course, be a deal. That belief itself …
Why is Obama Opposed to a Short-Term Debt Deal? Politics
As the tortuous debt ceiling debate continues, with plot twists that even the most diehard political junkies are having a hard time keeping straight, one aspect continues to bedevil the process: the staunch refusal of both …
Could a Debt Deal Lead to a Credit Crisis?
The biggest fear in Washington right now is that a standoff over the debt ceiling might lead to a swift U.S. default. But a growing chorus of economists and investors say they’re less worried about what happens on August 2 than what comes after. After all, politicians are bound to reach a compromise on the debt ceiling at some point, …
The U.S. Will Not Default on August 2
The only thing that matters for global markets over the coming days is whether a deal can be struck in Washington over the debt ceiling. That said, there is one major misconception – fostered by politicians – about what the …
Debt Ceiling: How Likely Is a Big U.S. Selloff?
The drawn-out debt ceiling debacle has Washington politicians all in a tizzy. But financial markets — the looming force behind the Treasury’s August 2 deadline for Congress to strike a deal on raising the debt limit — still haven’t been shaken. Many worry the failure to strike a deal by the deadline would cause investors to sell off …
Odd Couple Debt Dance In D.C. Spooks Markets
Can two major political parties get along without driving the financial markets crazy? Apparently not, as Democrats and Republicans – the odd couple of U.S. politics – still aren’t on the same page in agreeing to a new debt …
Our Real Debt Problem
On Friday, I posted a piece on the U.S. debt and how we are creating a false crisis given current interest rates and our ability to manage that. Judging from the responses, you would have thought I was penning a piece in defense …
