Courtesy of John Nyaradi
Global markets skate on thin ice as the political drama over the debt ceiling debate continues in Washington, D.C.
Major stock markets declined modestly today as no one seems able to “think the unthinkable” regarding a possible U.S. debt default next week. Treasuries were up, along with gold, while stock markets declined.
House Speaker Boehner rolled out yet another proposal supposedly delivering $1.2 Trillion in savings which then the Congressional Budget Office declared would only be worth $850 Billion over ten years, so the Speaker’s staff went back to work with hopefully sharper pencils.
New home sales were down while consumer confidence was somehow up.
Congress is scheduled to vote tomorrow, Wednesday, on the Republican plan, while Democrats in the Senate work on a parallel plan of their own.
An increasing number of analysts now forecast that the U.S credit rating may be downgraded no matter what happens, this week and that can only be expensive for the nation’s economy.
So the clock ticks and the ice creaks and cracks as U.S. political leadership skates on ever thinning ice.
The only question now is will the ice break before a deal is reached?
Market Summary:
Industrials (DIA): -91; -0.7%
