September 11, 2012 10:55 AM EST |
WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner says he's not confident Congress can reach a budget deal and avoid a downgrading of the U.S. debt rating.
Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday that it would likely cut its "Aaa" rating on U.S. government debt, probably by one notch, if budget negotiations fail.
Boehner was asked at a Capitol Hill news conference how confident he was that such a step could be avoided. He said he wasn't confident at all.
The Ohio Republican stressed that the House has passed legislation to avoid the automatic, across-the-board cuts of $1.2 trillion from defense and domestic programs that kick in Jan. 2. He said the Senate needs to act and President Barack Obama needs to show some leadership.
Any real negotiations are not expected until after the November elections.
And on the heels of Boehner's announcement, this:
Euro rises to 5-month high ahead of Fed meeting
September 11, 2012 12:09 PM EST |
NEW YORK — The euro hit a five-month high against the dollar as traders wait to see if the Federal Reserve will announce additional steps to help the U.S. economy later this week.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech last month that the bank can do more to help the U.S. economy rebound. It has already launched two rounds of bond purchases, most recently in August 2010. The Fed ends a two-day meeting Thursday.
The euro rose as high as $1.28703 Tuesday, its highest point against the dollar since May 14. The euro was worth $1.2769 late Monday.
The British pound rose to $1.6074 from $1.5998.
The dollar rose to 77.86 Japanese yen from 78.28 yen.