PJ: It's not just your economy at risk. The banking and housing crisis that is credited for the worst economic turmoil since the great depression in the US is also credited for the same economic uncertainties in much of the world. It is because of this economic interdependency that the world watches in hopes of strong economic growth in America. Fear of a US government shutdown that might reverse the direction of the current fragile recovery, as well as government actions that could adversely affect job growth in the US are of concern around the globe.
Straits Times
Obama urges talks amid spending, debt crises
WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama called wary Republicans to the negotiating table on Wednesday amid a political war over spending cuts fueled by worries that swollen US deficits and debt may be stifling job growth.
His appeal came as one of his top Republican foes, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, set the stage for a showdown with the Obama administration by saying Congress was in no hurry to act on raising the US debt ceiling.
And Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said US$61 billion (S$77.4 billion) in spending cuts in a Republican bill that cleared the House of Representatives could cost 'a couple hundred thousand jobs,' but not the 700,000 in a study cited by Democrats.
'So it's not trivial, but I think those numbers are a little high,' Mr Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee.
The president's Democratic allies and his Republican foes have been battling over the proper role of government as the US economy shakily rises from the worst US economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Mr Obama welcomed congressional passage of a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown and give feuding lawmakers and the White House just 14 days to find a new compromise or approve another short-term funding measure. -- AFP
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_640842.html
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