Newsgroup: it.economia.borsa
Titolo: info USA

US to hit debt ceiling
By Jeannine Aversa in Washington
06Feb03
THE US Government is expected to hit the $US6.4 trillion ($11.7 trillion)
ceiling on the national debt around Febrary 20, the Treasury Department
said, renewing its call for Congress to boost the Government's borrowing
authority.
Treasury asked Congress late last year to increase the Government's ability
to borrow, setting the stage for a political fight in Congress. Treasury,
however, hasn't said exactly how much of an increase in the current
statutory debt ceiling it wants.
Late last year Treasury warned Congress the Government would hit the debt
ceiling in late February, but didn't specify a date.
Treasury's announcement comes as the Government's financial situation is
deteriorating, with considerably more red ink being projected for the next
few years than the $158 billion deficit seen in the 2002 fiscal year, which
ended September 30.
US President George W. Bush's budget — which includes a bold tax-cut
package — projects deficits of $US307 billion this year and $US304 billion
next year — surpassing the record $US290 billion deficit of 1992 under the
first President Bush.
If Congress doesn't boost the Government's borrowing authority, Treasury can
juggle funds for a while at least to dodge a default on the national debt.
Treasury moved billions of dollars around to do just that on two occasions
last year.
"If the statutory debt ceiling is not raised, the Treasury will have to
begin to use a number of stopgap devices — some costly — to manage debt
subject to limit, which have been previously utilized under established
legal authority," Treasury said Wednesday.
But such shifting of funds would allow the government to pay its bills
through the beginning of April, the department said.
"Treasury will continue to work with Congress to ensure the government's
ability to finance its operations," Treasury said.
Peter Fisher, Treasury's undersecretary for domestic finance, didn't believe
the February 20 and April timeframes would be changed by a war with Iraq or
congressional passage of the president's new tax proposal.
"I doubt that any contingency is going to change this date much," Fisher
said. "I think we discussed last year at some length, the timing of these
dates is really at this point driven by our cash flow."
Last June, Congress boosted the old debt limit by $US450 billion, from
$US5.95 trillion to the current $US6.4 trillion. However, at that time,
Treasury had sought a larger increase and warned that Congress would need to
again increase the government's borrowing authority.
Boosting the debt limit is more a matter of politics than economics.
Economists and others doubt that Congress will not eventually raise the
limit. A federal default is considered unimaginable because it would rattle
the bond markets, force interest rates higher, weaken the world economy and
deliver a jarring political blow to President Bush.
Currently, national debt subject to the $US6.4 trillion debt limit stands at
$US6.3 trillion.
Democrats said the need for the government to borrow more reflects Bush's
handling of the struggling economy and underscored how the 10-year, $US1.35
trillion tax-cut that he engineered in 2001 forced the Government back into
the red.
Republicans blamed the 2001 recession and the costs of fighting terrorism
for the need to extend the debt limit.
With the Government squeezed for cash, Treasury said it would bring back
3-year notes, selling them on a quarterly basis beginning in May. The last
time the government sold the 3-year note was in May 1998. Treasury also
plans to sell 5-year notes more often each quarter.
Treasury also will auction $US42 billion in 5-year and 10-year notes next
week. It will sell $US24 billion worth of 5-year notes, maturing on February
15, 2008, next Tuesday; and will sell $US18 billion worth of 10-year notes,
maturing on February 15, 2013, next Wednesday.
A committee of securities dealers that advises Treasury on financing matters
in a meeting Tuesday discussed, among other things, bringing back the
30-year bond, the 52-week bill and the 7-year note, according to minutes of
the meeting.
Treasury officials, however, said they don't foresee at this point
resurrecting the 30-year bond, which the government stopped selling in 2001.

11/02/2003 16:33 >> Usa: Fed taglia stima crescita Pil 2003 da 3,5%-4% a
3,25%-3,5%