BUDGET/TREASURY: “The risks of a budget crisis or fiscal mishap in Washington are rising, which could weigh on financial markets in the weeks ahead.
Forecasters in The Wall Street Journal’s monthly survey of economists see on average a 22% chance of the government shutting down at the end of next month and a 17% chance that the U.S. Treasury will, at least temporarily, skip making payments on obligations such as government payroll or issuing Social Security checks to manage looming funding challenges.
The survey pointed to rising angst about land mines awaiting lawmakers when they return from their August recess. Two crucial fiscal deadlines are drawing nearer: The Treasury has estimated Congress must act by Sept. 29 to address the nation’s debt ceiling, and Sept. 30 is the end of the fiscal year, and thus the deadline for Congress to authorize legislation to keep the government functioning when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Similar showdowns have rocked Wall Street in recent years. Though calamities were averted, that’s no guarantee of a clear path now.”
-Josh Zumbrun, “Risks of Fiscal Mishap Rise as Debt and Budget Deadlines Loom,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 10, 2017 10:00am