washington

Lawmakers to vote on last-minute debt deal

by

(Reuters) – Congressional leaders rushed to line up Republican and Democratic votes on Monday for a White House-backed dealto raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented debt default. With scars still fresh from the months-long debate over increasing the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, a new battle was shaping over the incendiary topic of taxes. Votes were expected later in the day in the House of Representatives and Senate on a plan to cut at least $2.4 trillion over 10 years, form a new congressional committee to recommend a deficit-reduction package by late November, and raise the borrowing limit … Read more

‘s Failure to Panic

by

I just got off the phone with a source on Capitol Hill who has spent the past few days trying to convince Republicans to vote for a debt ceiling hike. He told me that the biggest obstacle he faces has been “market complacency.” “Frankly, a bit of panic would be very helpful right now,” he said. As he explained it, lots of people in Washington, D.C., expected that this would be a week marked by panic in the markets. Stocks would tank. Bonds would get clobbered. The dollar would do something dramatic. And all of this would help convince reluctant … Read more