150 Days: Treasury Says Debt Has Been Frozen at $18,112,975,000,000

 

 

(CNSNews.com) – The portion of the federal debt that is subject to a legal limit set by Congress closed Monday, August 10, at $18,112,975,000,000, according to the latest Daily Treasury Statement, which was published at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

That, according to the Treasury’s statements, makes 150 straight days the debt subject to the limit has been frozen at $18,112,975,000,000.

$18,112,975,000,000 is about $25 million below the current legal debt limit of $18,113,000,080,959.35.

Greek deal in sight as Germany bows to huge global pressure for debt relief

Angela Merkel faces a defining moment in her political career as chorus of voices push for Greek debt relief

Germany is at last bowing to pressure as a chorus of countries and key institutions demand debt relief for Greece, a shift that could break the five-month stalemate and avert a potentially disastrous rupture of monetary union at this Sunday’s last-ditch summit.

In a highly significant move, the European Council has called on both sides to make major concessions, insisting that the creditor powers must do their part as the radical Syriza government puts forward a new raft of proposals on economic reforms before a deadline expires tonight.

‘Foreign shocks’ could harm US financial stability: Lew

If “all hell breaks loose” you could expect the EU to face serious turmoil and possibly crumble. If Greece can’t make a payment, then Germany can’t get paid. Germany’s Deutsche Bank has $72.8 trillion in derivatives exposure while its GDP is roughly $2.7 trillion.  The contagion would then spread to South America (think Venezuela/Argentina defaults) because of the interconnectedness of investments and would head north all the way up to Mexico for another default. When the wave hits Mexico, America has two weeks before its collapse.

 

Washington (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Congress on Wednesday that foreign turmoil, such as Greece’s debt crisis, could destabilize the US financial system.

“In today’s globally integrated financial markets, foreign shocks have the potential to disrupt financial stability in the United States,” Lew said in testimony to the House of Representatives financial services committee.

US could start defaulting on debt ‘very soon’ warns Lew

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Monday that the US is on course to hit its so-called debt ceiling, the limit to which it can legally borrow, by the end of the month.

He called on Congress to raise it immediately to prevent the issue from harming the economic recovery, adding that the government would start defaulting on its debt “very soon” if it failed to act.

“Time is short. Congress needs to act to extend the nation’s borrowing authority, and it needs to act now,” Mr Lew said in a speech on Monday.

White House openly threatens US default as debt fight escalates

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has issued a categorical warning that the United States will default on its $16.7 trillion debt and throw the world into turmoil unless Congress agrees to raise the legal debt ceiling by October 17.

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Mr Lew said the treasury had already exhausted its normal funds in May and has been “creating room” by resorting to one-off tricks, but these, too, have run dry. The government will have just $30bn by October 17, half what is needed to cover immediate needs over subsequent days.