For a few weeks, a flurry of meetings between American and Chinese officials seemed to signal that the two countries were trying to reduce tensions, after months of rancor and frozen high-level contacts raised concerns about the risk of a conflict, accidental or otherwise. First the U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met with China’s […]
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In the days after November’s midterm elections, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen was feeling upbeat about the fact that Democrats had performed better than expected and maintained control of the Senate. But as she traveled to the Group of 20 leaders summit in Indonesia that month, she said Republicans taking control of the House posed […]
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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Friday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills on time by June 5, moving the goal-post slightly while maintaining the urgency for congressional leaders to reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt limit. The letter gave the most specific timeline […]
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A debt deal is in sight Investors are holding their breath on Friday morning, amid signs that the White House and top House Republicans are closing in on a deal to raise the debt limit and avert a government default. Stock futures are showing modest gains, while yields on Treasury bills maturing on June 8 […]
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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Wednesday that it was “almost certain” that the United States would not have enough cash to continue to pay all of its bills on time beyond early June and that she would soon provide Congress with a more precise update about when the nation could default if the […]
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William Pitt Fessenden, a Maine Republican and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was shocked by the idea of paper money (he claimed it “tormented” him night and day) and grievously worried about its effect on the country’s ability to borrow, especially overseas. Fessenden proposed a radical amendment. In the original bill, legal tender would […]
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Fake news, real market drop For a few minutes on Monday, an ominous image of black smoke billowing from what appeared to be a government building near the Pentagon set off investor fears, sending stocks tumbling. Experts quickly dismissed the picture as a fake, most likely cobbled together with artificial intelligence, and markets swiftly recovered. […]
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The United States faces an “elevated risk” of running out of cash to pay its bills between June 2 and 13 if Congress does not raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, according to an analysis released on Tuesday by the Bipartisan Policy Center, an influential think tank that carefully tracks federal spending. The analysis […]
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President Biden told U.S. allies on Friday that he would allow Ukrainian pilots to be trained on American-made F-16 fighter jets, several U.S. officials said, adding that the president is prepared to let other countries give F-16s to Ukraine — a major upgrade of the Ukrainian military and a sharp reversal. Since Russia launched its […]
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In letters to Congress and warnings to business leaders about the catastrophic consequences if the United States defaults on its debt, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has repeatedly offered an important caveat. She cannot give the exact date when the federal government will run out of cash. The United States reached its statutory $31.4 trillion […]
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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen reiterated on Monday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills by June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit, adding to the pressure on President Biden and congressional leaders as they race to reach an agreement to avert a default. […]
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It’s come to this. Because of the debt ceiling crisis, a corner of the financial markets sees the U.S. government as a riskier borrower over the next month or so than Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Mexico, the Philippines and a host of other countries that have never been remotely considered linchpins for the modern global financial […]
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JOHANNESBURG — The United States ambassador to South Africa has accused the country’s government of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, escalating the friction between the two countries over Russia and the war. The ambassador, Reuben E. Brigety II, told reporters on Thursday that Washington has reason to believe that […]
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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Thursday downplayed the possibility that President Biden could essentially ignore the debt limit by invoking the 14th Amendment, calling the idea “legally questionable.” Her comments come as lawmakers and the Biden administration remain locked in a standoff over whether and how to raise the debt ceiling, which caps how […]
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Tucker Carlson: ‘We’re back.’ Tucker Carlson says he’s back: The conservative firebrand announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he would start a new show on Elon Musk’s social media platform, two weeks after being fired from Fox News. But Mr. Musk’s less-than-enthusiastic response — and his rush to note that the social media platform hadn’t […]
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President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss budget priorities and raising the debt limit at a precarious moment: The United States is quickly running out of cash to pay its bills. Lawmakers have less than a month to pass legislation to increase or suspend the debt ceiling, which caps […]
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Washington is heading for another big fight over whether to raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, which caps the amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. This year is shaping up to be the messiest fight in at least a decade. Republicans are demanding that an increase in the […]
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Wall Street is still on edge After JPMorgan Chase secured a deal to buy the embattled First Republic, the banking giant’s chief, Jamie Dimon, asserted that the market turmoil set off by Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was at an end. “This part of the crisis is over,” he told analysts on Monday. But Wall Street […]
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WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Monday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills by June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit, putting pressure on President Biden and lawmakers to reach an agreement to avoid a default. The warning over when […]
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First Republic Bank was seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase on Monday, the latest casualty of a banking crisis that has seen other troubled lenders collapse in March. Silicon Valley Bank, one of the most prominent lenders to technology start-ups and venture capital firms, was the first to implode on March 10. Regulators […]
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WASHINGTON — A vote by House Republicans last week to lift the nation’s debt limit in exchange for deep spending cuts was the first step in what is likely to be a protracted battle over raising or suspending the borrowing cap to avoid defaulting on United States debt. But while Republicans and President Biden and […]
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The markets have been rocky ever since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates to combat inflation last year. Stocks and bonds have lost money. The costs of financing a car, a house or even a small credit-card purchase have risen. Two important regional U.S. banks failed and needed bailouts, and worries about a possible […]
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How Fox’s burden got even lighter Fox News’s $787.5 million payout to settle wide-ranging defamation claims by Dominion Voting Systems is still the talk of the town, including the size of that sum. But more evidence suggests that the eye-popping number — which Dominion and its owner still claim as a win — might not […]
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WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Thursday will call for a “constructive” and “healthy” economic relationship between the United States and China, one in which the two nations work together to confront challenges like climate change, according to excerpts from prepared remarks. Ms. Yellen’s comments, which she will deliver at Johns Hopkins University’s […]
Read More WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Thursday will call for a “constructive” and “healthy” economic relationship between the United States and China, one in which the two nations work together to confront challenges like climate change, according to excerpts from prepared remarks. Ms. Yellen’s comments, which she will deliver at Johns Hopkins University’s […]
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WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday unveiled an $80 billion plan to transform itself into a “digital first” tax collector focused on customer service, laying the groundwork for an ambitious overhaul of one of the most scrutinized arms of the federal government. The long-awaited road map is a centerpiece of President Biden’s economic […]
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On March 10, just hours after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman hosted a dinner for about 20 people at his penthouse apartment in Manhattan. The dinner had been planned, and the boldface names were there to discuss Ukraine. But before talk turned to the war, Mr. Ackman sought out the […]
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TikTok’s tough day in Congress The C.E.O. of TikTok was grilled for nearly five hours in Congress on Thursday about his company’s ties to China, and his testimony did little to suggest the video platform’s problems are over. The aggressive questioning of Shou Chew has only added fuel to fiery U.S.-China relations and highlighted TikTok’s […]
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No clear path on helping banks U.S. banking regulators gave investors a lot to chew on yesterday. The Federal Reserve went ahead with a quarter-point increase in interest rates, signaling that, for now, it remained more worried about inflation than banking stability. But while Jerome Powell, the central bank’s chair, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen […]
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WASHINGTON — Two of the nation’s top economic policymakers on Wednesday said they were focused on determining how the failure of Silicon Valley Bank had happened and suggested changes to federal regulation and oversight might be needed to prevent future runs on American banks. The discussion of stricter oversight by Jerome H. Powell, the Federal […]
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WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are looking for ways to resolve a major concern that threatens to keep the banking industry in turmoil: The fact that the federal government only insures bank deposits up to $250,000. Some members of Congress are looking for ways to boost that cap, at least temporarily, in order to stop depositors from […]
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