WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Reserve is unlikely to be able to protect the U.S. economy from the damage caused by a failure to raise the federal debt ceiling, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday, adding that the government should never be in a position where it is unable to pay all of its bills.
Powell told a news conference after the Fed’s latest rate hike decision that resolving the debt ceiling standoff between Republicans and Democrats was a matter for Congress and the Biden administration.
“We don’t give advice to either side,” Powell said. “We would just point out that it’s very important that this be done.”
A U.S. default would be unprecedented and have “highly uncertain” and “quite diverse” consequences for the U.S. economy, Powell said, but he declined to enumerate them.
“We shouldn’t even be talking about a world in which the U.S. doesn’t pay its bills. It just shouldn’t be a thing,” Powell said.
“No one should assume that the Fed can really protect the economy and the financial system and our reputation globally from the damage that such an event might inflict,” he added.
On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury’s best estimate was that a default on U.S. payment obligations due to insufficient cash could come as early as June 1, raising alarm bells on the need for urgent action to increase the borrowing cap.
President Joe Biden reacted by summoning the four top Congressional leaders to the White House for a May 9 meeting, but it remained unclear whether he would open negotiations over Republicans’ spending cuts demands or continue to insist on a “clean” debt ceiling increase.
Yellen has warned that a debt ceiling default will cause “severe hardship” to American families by raising borrowing costs, and harm the U.S. global leadership position.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
