U.s. Debt | featured news

China's Foreign Ministry, responding to concerns over the U.S. debt ceiling impasse, says it hopes the U.S. government will adopt "responsible ...

President Obama continued to push for a $4-trillion deal to rein in government deficits Sunday, but a White House meeting with congressional leaders failed to break the deadlock over spending and taxes that has stalemated discussions for more than a month.

Talks to reach a more ambitious deficit-reduction deal effectively broke down on Saturday, House Speaker John Boehner said, as he and fellow Republicans resisted any White House attempts that could increase taxes.

Democratic leaders called on Wednesday for new spending and tax cuts to boost the sluggish U.S. economy, setting up a fresh hurdle for bipartisan efforts to head off a government debt default this summer.

The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth on Friday and warned Washington and debt-ridden European countries that they are "playing with fire" unless they take immediate steps to reduce their budget deficits.

The Federal Reserve board said that it would use the proceeds from its huge mortgage-bond portfolio to buy long-term Treasury securities.

China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasurys, sold a net $5.8 billion of the government's debt in January on top of more than $34 billion in December. It also continued shifting its holdings into longer-term paper.

Determined to have a deficit commission with or without Congress' backing, President Barack Obama plans to announce on Thursday that he is establishing a panel similar to – although weaker than – the one lawmakers rejected.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to pay its bills, a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 trillion.

Increase is much larger than previously planned, but is necessary to avoid defaulting on debts next year, House majority leader says.