US debt ceiling: reports of fractious meetings between president Obama and Republicans have added to markets' anxieties.
City experts warn that lack of progress in Washington over the debt ceiling fans fears that the world's biggest economy might default on some of its debt.
America's debt crisis reached a critical stage on Thursday as
lawmakers remained deadlocked over whether to raise the US debt ceiling,
and Moody's threatened to downgrade the country's credit rating.
The dollar lost ground against most major currencies after Moody's and Chinese ratings agency Dagong both put the US on negative watch. Reports, later denied, that President Obama had walked out of debt negotiations with top Republicans added to the drama.
World stock markets suffered another bout of heavy losses when trading began on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 falling 57 points within the opening minutes to 5879. European government bonds were also under pressure after an auction of Italian long-term bonds saw buyers demand much higher interest rates - a sign of the tensions in Europe's own debt crisis.
City experts warned that the lack of progress in Washington in recent days was fanning fears that the world's biggest economy might default on some of its debts. Michael Hewson of CMC Markets called the threat of a Moody's downgrade a "cruise missile across the bows of US politicians".
"One thing is certain: it won't take long for Fitch and S&P to follow suit if the politicians don't come to their senses," Hewson added.
Moody's said on Wednesday night that there was a greater risk that the US government would not agree to increase its debt ceiling above the legal limit of $14.3 trillion (£8.86tn), hit in May. Dagong rapidement emboîté le pas, disant ralentir la croissance économique et la hausse des dettes signifie la capacité du gouvernement fédéral pour rembourser ses dettes se détériorait.
Despite mounting concern in the financial markets, America's political leaders remain some distance apart over the issue of the debt ceiling. Little progress appeared to be made on Wednesday. Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor claimed that Obama had shoved back the table and walked out of White House talks, after Cantor refused to discuss the president's proposal to raise taxes on wealthier Americans.
"The president told me, 'Eric, don't call my bluff. I'm going to take this to the American people,'" Cantor said after the meeting.
Democrats, though, disputed whether Obama had quit the meeting prematurely.
"Left abruptly is perfectly fair," one official told the LA Times. "But the meeting was over – in no sense did he walk out on it."
Des responsables ont prévenu que, comme des choses, l'Amérique sera à court d'argent pour payer ses factures, le 2 août. La Réserve fédérale Ben Bernanke a déclaré mercredi que sans accord, les Etats-Unis continueraient à servir ses dettes et d'arrêter les avantages comme les paiements de sécurité sociale à la place.
JP Morgan PDG Jamie Dimon a déclaré qu'il était "impératif" que le plafond d'endettement est élevé au Royaume-Uni, et que les États-Unis montre la discipline budgétaire.
Republicans are demanding hefty spending cuts, worth about $2.4tn over the next 10 years, in return for voting to raise the debt ceiling. Obama is pushing for a $4tn deficit reduction plan over the same period, with a hefty slice of increased tax revenue.
The dollar lost ground against most major currencies after Moody's and Chinese ratings agency Dagong both put the US on negative watch. Reports, later denied, that President Obama had walked out of debt negotiations with top Republicans added to the drama.
World stock markets suffered another bout of heavy losses when trading began on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 falling 57 points within the opening minutes to 5879. European government bonds were also under pressure after an auction of Italian long-term bonds saw buyers demand much higher interest rates - a sign of the tensions in Europe's own debt crisis.
City experts warned that the lack of progress in Washington in recent days was fanning fears that the world's biggest economy might default on some of its debts. Michael Hewson of CMC Markets called the threat of a Moody's downgrade a "cruise missile across the bows of US politicians".
"One thing is certain: it won't take long for Fitch and S&P to follow suit if the politicians don't come to their senses," Hewson added.
Moody's said on Wednesday night that there was a greater risk that the US government would not agree to increase its debt ceiling above the legal limit of $14.3 trillion (£8.86tn), hit in May. Dagong rapidement emboîté le pas, disant ralentir la croissance économique et la hausse des dettes signifie la capacité du gouvernement fédéral pour rembourser ses dettes se détériorait.
Despite mounting concern in the financial markets, America's political leaders remain some distance apart over the issue of the debt ceiling. Little progress appeared to be made on Wednesday. Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor claimed that Obama had shoved back the table and walked out of White House talks, after Cantor refused to discuss the president's proposal to raise taxes on wealthier Americans.
"The president told me, 'Eric, don't call my bluff. I'm going to take this to the American people,'" Cantor said after the meeting.
Democrats, though, disputed whether Obama had quit the meeting prematurely.
"Left abruptly is perfectly fair," one official told the LA Times. "But the meeting was over – in no sense did he walk out on it."
Des responsables ont prévenu que, comme des choses, l'Amérique sera à court d'argent pour payer ses factures, le 2 août. La Réserve fédérale Ben Bernanke a déclaré mercredi que sans accord, les Etats-Unis continueraient à servir ses dettes et d'arrêter les avantages comme les paiements de sécurité sociale à la place.
JP Morgan PDG Jamie Dimon a déclaré qu'il était "impératif" que le plafond d'endettement est élevé au Royaume-Uni, et que les États-Unis montre la discipline budgétaire.
Republicans are demanding hefty spending cuts, worth about $2.4tn over the next 10 years, in return for voting to raise the debt ceiling. Obama is pushing for a $4tn deficit reduction plan over the same period, with a hefty slice of increased tax revenue.
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