JPMorgan reaches tentative deal with US govt, to pay $13 billion in record settlement

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; float: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"> <div style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <a class="thickbox" href="" id="mod-article-image-link" style="color: #336797; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img alt="JPMorgan pays $100M, admits fault in London trades" border="0" id="articleimg1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" pg="StoryVid" src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-24441578,width-217,resizemode-4/JPMorgan-pays-100M-admits-fault-in-London-trades.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="JPMorgan pays $100M, admits fault in London trades" vspace="0" width="217" /></a><div id="slidshdiv" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: -8px; top: 0px; z-index: 100;"> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both; color: black; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; width: 217px;"> <b>According to a source, Of the $13 billion, $9 billion is fines or penalties and $4 billion will go to consumer relief for struggling homeowners. </b></div> </div> </div> </div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">WASHINGTON: JPMorgan Chase & Co has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion to settle allegations surrounding the quality of mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, a person familiar with the negotiations between the bank and the federal government said Saturday. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">If the agreement is finalized it would be the government's highest-profile enforcement action related to the financial meltdown that plunged the </span>economy<span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> into the deepest recession since </span>the Great Depression<span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> of the 1930s. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized, said attorney general </span>Eric Holder<span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">, associate attorney general Tony West, JPMorgan CEO </span>Jamie Dimon<span style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> and the bank's general counsel, Stephen Cutler, negotiated the tentative settlement in a Friday night phone call. </span></div>

JPMorgan reaches tentative deal with US govt, to pay $13 billion in record settlement

According to a source, Of the $13 billion, $9 billion is fines or penalties and $4 billion will go to consumer relief for strugglin...

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'JPMorgan to pay record $13 billion to settle US probes'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; float: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"> <div style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <a class="thickbox" href="" id="mod-article-image-link" style="color: #336797; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img alt="JPMorgan" border="0" id="articleimg1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" pg="StoryVid" src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-24408687,width-217,resizemode-4/JPMorgan.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="JPMorgan" vspace="0" width="217" /></a><div id="slidshdiv" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: -8px; top: 0px; z-index: 100;"> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both; color: black; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; width: 217px;"> <b>JPMorgan is seeking a single settlement to resolve all claims from federal and state agencies over its mortgage-related liabilities stemming from the bust in house prices.</b></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="Normal" style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> WASHINGTON: JPMorgan Chase & Co has reached a </div> <div class="Normal" style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> tentative $13 billion agreement with the US Justice Department to settle a range of mortgage issues, a source familiar with the talks said on Saturday.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The tentative deal does not release the bank from criminal liability, a factor that had been a major sticking point in the discussions, the source said.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />As part of the deal, the bank will continue to cooperate in criminal inquiries into certain individuals involved in the conduct at issue, the source, who declined to be identified.</div> </div>

'JPMorgan to pay record $13 billion to settle US probes'

JPMorgan is seeking a single settlement to resolve all claims from federal and state agencies over its mortgage-related liabilities...

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US moves closer to possibility of default

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23621335,width-310,resizemode-4/us-moves-closer-to-possibility-of-default.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23621335,width-310,resizemode-4/us-moves-closer-to-possibility-of-default.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b>Boehner insists that Obama must negotiate to end the shutdown and avert a default that could trigger a recession that would echo 2008 or worse</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">WASHINGTON: The </span>United States<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> moved closer to the possibility of the first-ever </span>default<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> on the government's debt as Speaker </span>John Boehner<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> adamantly ruled out a House vote on a straightforward bill to boost the borrowing authority without concessions from </span>Barack Obama<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">With no resolution in sight, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned that Congress is "playing with fire" as he called on lawmakers to quickly pass legislation re-opening the government and a measure increasing the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The government </span>shutdown<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> precipitated by the </span>budget<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> brinkmanship entered its sixth day with hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed, national parks closed and an array of government services on hold.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Lew said Obama has not changed his opposition to coupling a bill to re-open the government and raise the borrowing authority with Republican demands for changes in the 3-year-old health care law and spending cuts. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Boehner insisted that Obama must negotiate if the president wants to end the shutdown and avert a default that could trigger a financial crisis and recession that would echo the events of 2008 or worse. The 2008 financial crisis pushed the country into the worst recession since the </span>Great Depression<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> of the 1930s. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"We're not going to pass a clean debt limit increase," Boehner, the top House Republican, said in a television interview. "I told the president, there's no way we're going to pass one. The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit, and the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Boehner also said he lacks the votes "to pass a clean CR," or continuing resolution, a reference to the temporary spending bill without conditions that would keep the government operating. Democrats argue that their 200 members in the House of Representatives plus close to two dozen pragmatic Republicans would back a so-called clean bill if Boehner just allowed a vote, but say he remains hamstrung by the hardcore conservative tea party caucus. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"Let me issue him a friendly challenge. Put it on the floor Monday or Tuesday. I would bet there are the votes to pass it," said Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In a series of Sunday television appearances, Lew warned that on October 17, when he exhausts the bookkeeping maneuvers he has been using to keep borrowing, the threat of default would be imminent. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"I'm telling you that on the 17th, we run out of the ability to borrow, and Congress is playing with fire," Lew said. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Lew said that while Treasury expects to have $30 billion of cash on hand on October 17, that money will be quickly exhausted in paying incoming bills given that the government's payments can run up to $60 billion on a single day. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Treasury issued a report on Thursday detailing in stark terms what could happen if the government actually defaulted on its obligations to service the national debt. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"A default would be unprecedented and has the potential to be catastrophic," the Treasury report said. "Credit </span>markets<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> could freeze, the value of the dollar could plummet, </span>US<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> interest rates could skyrocket, the negative spillovers could reverberate around the world."</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Private economists generally agree that a </span>default<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> on the US debt would be extremely harmful, especially if the impasse was not resolved quickly. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"If they don't pay on the debt, that would cost us for generations to come," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He said a debt default would be a "cataclysmic" event that would roil financial </span>markets<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> in the </span>United States<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> and around the world. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Zandi said that holders of </span>US Treasury <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">bonds would demand higher interest rates which would cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars in higher interest payments in coming years on the national debt. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite who has been a force in pushing congressional Republicans to link changes to the health care law in exchange for keeping the government running, spelled out his conditions for raising the borrowing authority. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"We should look for three things. No. 1, we should look for some significant structural plan to reduce government spending. No. 2, we should avoid new taxes. And No. 3, we should look for ways to mitigate the harms from `Obamacare,"' Cruz said, describing the debt ceiling issue as one of the "best leverage the Congress has to rein in the executive." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Some Republicans, such as Rep. Steve King of Iowa, dismiss the warnings about a government default as an exaggeration, suggesting US credit won't collapse and calling the talk "a lot of false demagoguery." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Asked how the standoff might end, Boehner said Sunday on ABC that he was uncertain: "If I knew, I'd tell you." He added that Obama can call him any time to start negotiations to end the shutdown. "He knows what my phone number is." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Privately, administration officials say they don't think Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell want a default as they realize it will be far worse than a shutdown, but the two don't know how to avoid it or when to try. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In one promising development, several hundred thousand furloughed federal employees are headed back to work starting Monday, and those who remain at home or are working without paychecks are a step closer to getting back pay once the partial government </span>shutdown<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> ends.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered nearly all of the 350,000 furloughed Pentagon civilian employees back on the job. Hagel said he based his decision on a Pentagon interpretation of a law called the Pay Our Military Act that was approved by Congress just before the start of the partial government shutdown. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The Senate will try to vote this week on a bill that passed the House unanimously on Saturday to pay federal workers for days missed due to the shutdown. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Boehner and Schumer were interviewed on ABC's "This Week," and Lew and Cruz on CNN's "State of the Union." Lew also appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation," `'Fox News Sunday" and NBC's "Meet the Press."</span></div> </div>

US moves closer to possibility of default

Boehner insists that Obama must negotiate to end the shutdown and avert a default that could trigger a recession that would echo 2008 o...

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Amazon's German workers threaten strike before Christmas

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23607492,width-310,resizemode-4/amazon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23607492,width-310,resizemode-4/amazon.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> FRANKFURT, - Workers at Amazon.com's German operations could strike during the Christmas holiday season in a dispute over pay that has been raging for months, a trade union has warned.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> "If I were Amazon I would not rely on being able to make all deliveries to customers on time before Christmas," Heiner Reimann of services trade union Verdi was quoted as saying by German weekly Der Spiegel on Sunday.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Verdi is ready to call a strike when it hurts Amazon the most and only "serious negotiations" on the part of the company would avert a walkout, he was quoted as saying.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The union has organised short strikes this year to force Amazon to accept collective bargaining agreements in the mail order and retail industry as benchmarks for workers' pay at Amazon's German distribution centres.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Amazon has maintained that it regards staff at its centres in the cities of Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig as logistics workers and that they receive above-average pay by the standards of that industry.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> "Job descriptions for staff are typical of the logistics industry such as the storage, packaging and dispatch of goods," said a spokeswoman for Amazon Germany.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> She added that previous strikes had not affected deliveries to customers.</div> </div>

Amazon's German workers threaten strike before Christmas

FRANKFURT, - Workers at Amazon.com's German operations could strike during the Christmas holiday season in a dispute over pay that ...

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US shutdown fears perturb APEC summit

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23607989,width-310,resizemode-4/apec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23607989,width-310,resizemode-4/apec.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">NUSA DUA: The </span>US government<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> warned today that business in America was suffering from the federal shutdown as concern about Washington's policy paralysis was voiced at an Asia-Pacific summit where President </span>Barack Obama<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> was a notable absentee. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The first government closure in 17 years has directly affected hundreds of thousands of federal employees, but Commerce Secretary </span>Penny Pritzker<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> said companies were also starting to hurt, not least from her department's inability to collate vital economic data. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"The shutdown is not good for business. It's not good for the economy," Pritzker told reporters at the </span>Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> (APEC) </span>forum<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> on the Indonesian island of Bali, which Obama has been forced to skip to deal with the political crisis gripping Washington. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"And we need to move on with the business of doing business in the United States. So, I am hopeful this gets resolved soon. It's obviously having an impact," Pritzker said. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Her remarks on the economic impact came after Secretary of State </span>John Kerry<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> warned at the </span>APEC<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> meetings yesterday that the standoff was "reckless", and would weaken America's diplomatic standing abroad if it did not end soon. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Apart from APEC, Obama is also </span>missing<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> a separate East Asian summit this week and scheduled trips to Malaysia and the Philippines. His failure to come coincides with a diplomatic push by China in </span>Southeast Asia<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> featuring high-profile visits by President </span>Xi Jinping<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, who is at APEC. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Speaking at a Bali meeting of APEC business leaders which Obama had also been scheduled to address, Singapore Prime Minister </span>Lee Hsien Loong<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> said the president's no-show was "a very big disappointment to us". </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"Obviously we prefer a US government that is working to one that is not. And we prefer a US president who is able to travel and fulfill his international duties to one who is preoccupied with national domestic preoccupations," he said. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">While expressing sympathy for Obama's domestic travails, Lee said "no other country can replace" US engagement in Asia. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"Not China, not Japan, not any other power. That is something which we continue and encourage at every opportunity." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">At the same APEC business gathering, Chilean President </span>Sebastian Pinera<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> said the United States had to confront its fiscal problems "in a better way than they are doing it now with shutting down the government". </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Philippine President Benigno Aquino, who will now play host in Manila to Secretary of State John Kerry instead of Obama, proffered understanding for the president's decision to stay home by underscoring the gravity of the situation. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"The US </span>economy<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> is the number one economy in the world, what happens there affects all of us," he said in Bali.</span></div>

US shutdown fears perturb APEC summit

NUSA DUA: The  US government  warned today that business in America was suffering from the federal shutdown as concern about Washington...

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Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; float: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"> <div style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <a class="thickbox" href="" id="mod-article-image-link" style="color: #336797; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave" border="0" id="articleimg1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" pg="StoryVid" src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23604239,width-217,resizemode-4/Cheap-razor-made-after-PG-watches-Indians-shave.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave" vspace="0" width="217" /></a><div id="slidshdiv" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: -8px; top: 0px; z-index: 100;"> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both; color: black; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; width: 217px;"> <b>To successfully sell products overseas, particularly in developing markets, companies must tweak them so they're relevant to the people who live there.</b></div> </div> </div> </div> <br /> <div class="Normal" style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> NEW YORK: Procter & Gamble executives say it was striking </div> <div class="Normal" style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> the first time they witnessed a man shave while sitting barefoot on the floor in a tiny hut in India. <br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />He had no electricity, no running water and no mirror. <br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The 20 US-based executives observed the man in 2008 during one of 300 visits they made to homes in rural India. The goal? To gain insights they could use to develop a new razor for India. </div> </div>

Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

To successfully sell products overseas, particularly in developing markets, companies must tweak them so they're relevant to th...

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Who's to blame for uncertainty in the markets, China or US?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23532096,width-310,resizemode-4/whos-to-blame-for-uncertainty-in-the-markets-china-or-us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23532096,width-310,resizemode-4/whos-to-blame-for-uncertainty-in-the-markets-china-or-us.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b>Although the markets have been closing in the green zone since the US shutdown came into effect, intraday trades have been highly volatile.</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">America is shut down, but this has not hit sentiment on Indian bourses so far. Surprising!</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">What happens in the long term, whether the </span>US government<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> shutdown gets prolonged or the world's largest </span>economy<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> defaults rather than hiking its debt limit, markets do not seem to be bothered, at least for the moment; but Indian markets are highly volatile for sure, though with a positive bias.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Are the markets discounting the </span>US <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">shutdown? "In view of the concern over the stalemate in the US over the budget and the need to raise the debt ceiling, that level of relaxation in the markets is somewhat surprising given what we have seen in the past," says Mark Konyn, CEO, Cathay Conning Asset Management (CCAM).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Although the markets have been closing in the green zone since the US shutdown came into effect, intraday trades have been highly volatile.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"Volatility has got more to do with the situation in China, rather than the tapering," says John-Paul Smith, EM strategist at Deutsche Bank.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The US is highly unlikely to default, and it is widely expected that a compromise formula would be worked out between the Republicans and the Democrats over the contentious healthcare bill. Also, the debt ceiling is expected to be raised.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"The bad news is the situation in </span>China<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> could still deteriorate quite a lot and we are specially concerned about the build-up of an enterprise debt, which in the longer to medium term threatens the viability of the entire economy," says John-Paul Smith of Deutsche Bank.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">So far, the economic numbers flowing out from China are more or less good, with the latest being the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector, that rose to 55.4 in September from 53.9 in August. It is the highest reading since March.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But analysts are somewhat sceptical on China going forward. "If there is any adverse financial development in China, then that will have repercussions for the whole of the emerging markets universe," says Smith.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">As far as America is concerned, there is not much to worry about even if the shutdown gets prolonged, say analysts. "If the decision (on US shutdown) gets prolonged, the Fed is likely to push the tapering even further than December. The longer the impasse continues, the greater will be the hope that taper could get pushed," says Nipun Mehta, Founder & CEO, Blue Ocean Capital Advisors.</span></div> </div>

Who's to blame for uncertainty in the markets, China or US?

Although the markets have been closing in the green zone since the US shutdown came into effect, intraday trades have been highly volat...

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Wall Street flat, govt shutdown still primary focus

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23533306,width-310,resizemode-4/wall-street-flat-govt-shutdown-still-primary-focus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23533306,width-310,resizemode-4/wall-street-flat-govt-shutdown-still-primary-focus.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b>US stocks were little changed, with major indexes on track for a week of steep losses amid concerns about a partial shutdown of the US.</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">NEW YORK: US stocks were little changed on Friday, with major indexes on track for a week of steep losses amid concerns about a partial shutdown of the US government which entered a fourth day. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The S&P 500 has fallen for nine of the past 11 sessions, with the losses driven by a budget stalemate in Congress that has closed the government since midnight Monday. At the center of the impasse was the Affordable Care Act, dubbed ObamaCare, a heathcare reform plan signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The shutdown appeared likely to drag on for another week or more, with little sign of progress towards a solution. Investors are also watching the situation for how the upcoming debate over the debt ceiling might play out. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"People are reasonably sure Congress will reach an agreement to both reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling before the debt-ceiling deadline. Markets are pretty calm in the face of that belief, correctly reflecting the lack of any real harm so far," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">While a short-term closure was expected to have a modest economic impact, the effect is expected to become more pronounced the longer it lasts. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said the shutdown would hurt growth in the last quarter of this year, while the Bank of Japan said an extended budget standoff would have a severe global impact. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The debt ceiling issue is considered more severe as it could result in a default on US debt if no resolution is reached to increase it. On Thursday, the New York Times reported that House Speaker John Boehner told colleagues he would not let the United States default on its debt. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"If there's no agreement by the end of next week, the concern will really become greater and the impact will be more pronounced," said Warne, who helps oversee $670 billion in assets. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The Dow Jones industrial average was down 16.70 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 14,979.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.58 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 1,678.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.91 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 3,777.26. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">While shutdown concerns have pressured equities over the past two weeks, the S&P 500 index has frequently found support at its 50-day moving average of 1,679.61, though it closed slightly below that level on Thursday. </span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">For the week, the Dow is down 1.8 per cent and the S&P has slipped 0.8 per cent for a second week of losses for both indexes, while the Nasdaq has shed 0.1 per cent. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of investor anxiety, is up 36 per cent over the past two weeks, the biggest two-week jump for the index since September 2011. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Government economic data has been delayed because of the shutdown, and the September payroll report was not released as scheduled. About 180,000 jobs were expected to have been added in September, up from 169,000 added in the previous month. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Adobe Systems Inc fell 0.6 per cent to $50.56, a day after the company said hackers had stolen source code to some of its most popular software as well as the confidential information of millions of its customers. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Union Pacific Corp gave a third-quarter earnings outlook late Thursday that was below expectations, as flooding in Colorado weighed on coal shipments. Shares fell 1.1 per cent to $153.75. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Twitter Inc gave potential investors their first glance at its financials on Thursday when it publicly filed documents for an initial public offering. The information showed that revenue at the social networking company almost tripled in 2012, though it posted a loss in the first half of 2013. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Potbelly Corp said late Thursday its initial public offering of 7.5 million shares had priced at $14 each.</span></div> </div>

Wall Street flat, govt shutdown still primary focus

US stocks were little changed, with major indexes on track for a week of steep losses amid concerns about a partial shutdown of the US....

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Focus on debt ceiling as US shutdown drags on; Obama cancels trip

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; float: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;"> <div style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; width: 217px;"> <div style="float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <a class="thickbox" href="" id="mod-article-image-link" style="color: #336797; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><img alt="Obama cancels Asia trip to deal with govt shutdown" border="0" id="articleimg1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" pg="StoryVid" src="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23532841,width-217,resizemode-4/Obama-cancels-Asia-trip-to-deal-with-govt-shutdown.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="Obama cancels Asia trip to deal with govt shutdown" vspace="0" width="217" /></a><div id="slidshdiv" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: -8px; top: 0px; z-index: 100;"> </div> </div> <div style="clear: both; color: black; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; width: 217px;"> <b>Bowing to the reality that the impasse requires him to remain in Washington, Obama canceled plans to attend summits in Indonesia and Brunei next week.</b></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="Normal" style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> WASHINGTON: House Republicans huddled on Friday to plot </div> <div class="Normal" style="background-color: white; color: #3f3f3f; font-family: georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> their next move on the fourth day of a US government shutdown that many fear will drag on until bickering Washington politicians reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Even the possibility of the United States defaulting on its financial obligations for the first time in history has rattled financial markets and prompted warnings that such a move could derail the still fragile economic recovery.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Bowing to the reality that the impasse requires him to remain in Washington, US President Barack Obama canceled plans to attend summits in Indonesia and Brunei next week. Earlier this week, he canceled visits to Malaysia and the Philippines because of the shutdown.</div> </div>

Focus on debt ceiling as US shutdown drags on; Obama cancels trip

Bowing to the reality that the impasse requires him to remain in Washington, Obama canceled plans to attend summits in Indonesia an...

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Chinese launch seen for 'Regional' version of Airbus A330

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23014206,width-310,resizemode-4/chinese-launch-seen-for-regional-version-of-airbus-a330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23014206,width-310,resizemode-4/chinese-launch-seen-for-regional-version-of-airbus-a330.jpg" /></b></a></div> <b><br /></b> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b>The announcement may come with a new order for the aircraft, which will be adapted for shorter and more frequent trips than the current long-distance version. </b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">PARIS: </span>Airbus<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> will launch a short-range "Regional" version of its best-selling A330 wide-bodied jet at an airshow in China on Wednesday, industry sources said.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The announcement may come with a </span>new order<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> for the aircraft, which will be adapted for shorter and more frequent trips than the current long-distance version. Airbus is acting in part to capture burgeoning growth in China's crowded domestic market.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">EADS subsidiary Airbus declined to comment.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The European company's sales chief said earlier on Tuesday he would make product and commercial announcements at the </span>Beijing's Aviation Expo<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, but declined to give details.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Industry sources said the Sept 25-28 event would be a showcase for the shorter-stride version of the A330, which is designed to cope with relatively short but busy routes.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The standard </span>aviation industry<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> workhorses for short- and medium-haul flights are the smaller narrowbody, single-aisle jets like the Airbus A320 and </span>Boeing<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> 737 families.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Until now, both companies have ploughed most of their efforts into making their larger wide-body jets fly further with more passengers, while burning less fuel.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But Airbus has begun deliberately scaling back two long-haul designs, the A330 and the future A350, by limiting engine thrust and weight capacity to optimize them for airlines that want extra seats without paying for unused range.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The Airbus A350-900 Regional, first disclosed by Reuters in June, is already on the market.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">After years of adding range to its older A330, it has put the finishing touches to a "Regional" version of that plane. It is a return to the roots of the A330 which began its career ferrying domestic passsengers for French airline Air Inter.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In June, Boeing launched a shorter-range and stretched version of its 787 Dreamliner called the 787-10.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Intra-Asia Growth</strong><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The decisions reflect growth in intra-regional trade in Asia and overcrowded domestic routes in places like China and India.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Asian carriers fly 44 per cent of scheduled wide-body flights, and 77 per cent of those stay within Asia, says aviation consultancy Ascend.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">While Boeing's 787-10 will be physically larger than its sister models, necessitating a new project, Airbus is focusing on artifically capping the amount existing designs can carry.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">These maximum weights are used to calculate landing and navigation charges and so make the aircraft cheaper to operate.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The restrictions mean the airlines would get the planes at a cheaper price, but could buy back the spare performance later.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Boeing sources have said this is a disguised form of discounting to compete with the more fuel-efficient 787-10.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">By dampening such charges, industry analysts say Airbus will hope to bring the operating cost of an A330 on short trips down towards levels reserved for smaller planes like the A321.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But they warn the shorter trips would lead to an increase in the average number of take-offs and landings, which may require approval from regulators as well as new deals on maintenance.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">China has until recently blocked purchases of A330 in a row with the </span>European Union<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> over emissions rules. Airbus said last week it also had 100 Chinese orders for revamped </span>A320neo jets<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">.</span></div> </div>

Chinese launch seen for 'Regional' version of Airbus A330

The announcement may come with a new order for the aircraft, which will be adapted for shorter and more frequent trips than the current...

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Washington to Wall Street: Threat of default is real

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23013973,width-310,resizemode-4/washington-to-wall-street-threat-of-default-is-real.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-23013973,width-310,resizemode-4/washington-to-wall-street-threat-of-default-is-real.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b>Govt veterans are aghast that lawmakers openly speak of managing a default that could be triggered next month if they don't authorize more borrowing.</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">WASHINGTON: </span>Money lenders<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> trust America so implicitly that they generally dismiss the risk it won't pay its debts. But in the US capital, fears are growing that political dysfunction might trigger the unthinkable. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Government veterans from both political parties are aghast that lawmakers openly speak of managing a default that could be triggered next month if they don't authorize more borrowing. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Another reason for concern is that the debate over the debt ceiling appears stuck on a Republican demand for big spending cuts in exchange for raising the $16.7 trillion borrowing limit. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">This could be too tall an order because Washington is already slashing spending on almost everything but the welfare state. To go further, </span>Congress<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> would likely have to make cuts in sacrosanct programs like pensions and healthcare for the elderly, something lawmakers appear loath to do. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"The ingredients to put together a deal are diminishing," said Tony Fratto of consultancy firm Hamilton Place Strategies, which advises investors on the workings of Washington. "Only the tough choices are there," said Fratto, who was a spokesman at the White House and Treasury during the Bush administration. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Most discussion in Congress in recent days hasn't even been focused on the debt ceiling. Rather, lawmakers are racing to approve legislation to keep most government offices running past this month when budgets are due to expire. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Now even the Treasury secretary, whose role usually includes telegraphing confidence to Wall Street, is expressing concern about the nation's ability to keep paying the bills. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"I am nervous by the desire to drive this to the last minute," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told a business forum last week. Lew described himself as "anxious." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">And well he should be, said </span>Steve Bell<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, an analyst at the </span>Bipartisan Policy Center<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, which estimates the government will begin defaulting on its obligations between Oct. 18 and Nov. 5. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Bell, a Republican and a former staff director at the </span>Senate Budget Committee<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, said he hasn't worried this much about the prospect of default in his four decades in Washington. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The 'unthinkable'</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">A US default would rock </span>Wall Street<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> and quite possibly trigger another economic crisis in a nation still struggling to recover from the 2007-09 </span>recession<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. Borrowing costs could spike across the economy. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The last debt ceiling showdown in 2011 pushed the nation to within days of missing payments and led ratings firm Standard and Poor's to strip Washington of its sterling credit rating. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">That time around, Congress and the White House averted crisis by agreeing to deep spending cuts that were enacted this year but which largely spared so-called entitlement programs like Social Security pensions and Medicare insurance. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">With the least difficult cuts already made, it could be much harder to reach a new budget-tightening deal before the nation runs out of cash. The White House has pledged not to even engage Republicans in a debate over the limit on borrowing. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"I feel less comfortable now than I did even in 2011," Bell said. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Investors, however, still appear to be betting there is a smaller risk of default than the last time. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In the market for credit default swaps, which provide </span>insurance<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> against default, investors currently pay about $28,000 to insure $10 million in US sovereign debt over the next five years. That's up from a week ago, but still well below the peak of about $63,000 in July 2011.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">On Tuesday, Lew said investor confidence that a debt limit deal will be struck is probably "greater than is should be," Bloomberg reported. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Some investors are beginning to reassess the risks. </span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"Since irreconcilable differences are hardening. There is an increased likelihood that </span>Congress<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> and the president will not agree to raise the debt ceiling before time runs out," </span>Ray Dalio<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, founder of </span>Bridgewater Associates<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, one of the world's largest hedge funds, wrote in a report. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Lew's expressed anxiety stands in contrast to the tone of his predecessor, </span>Timothy Geithner<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, who steadfastly described default as "unthinkable" in 2011. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Now, many Republicans have supported a plan that would prioritize payments to creditors over other government obligations should the Treasury run out of money. The White House has said it would veto that plan.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Washington veterans say past generations of politicians would not even have entertained such a prospect so seriously. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">That is allowing doubts to grow where investors previously had none. America is far from insolvent and, for generations, investors have bet there was no risk that America would fail to make good on its debts. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"The fact that it's uncertain is the new element and the scary part," said </span>Alice Rivlin<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, a former head of the </span>Congressional Budget Office<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> and White House budget chief under President Bill Clinton. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">She said she to has never seen the risk of default higher. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"A few years ago one would have said, 'Don't be silly. Of course they will raise the debt ceiling.' But one can't say that anymore."</span></div> </div>

Washington to Wall Street: Threat of default is real

Govt veterans are aghast that lawmakers openly speak of managing a default that could be triggered next month if they don't authori...

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