Failure by US lawmakers to agree soon on a deal to raise the government's borrowing limit could deliver a severe shock to a still fragile recovery and global markets, the International Monetary Fund warned.
The global economic recovery still faces many risks, which could lead to stagflation, the OECD has said in its latest economic outlook. World growth is forecast to be 4.2% this year, down from 4.9% last year, before rising to 4.6% in 2012.
United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was confident Congress would raise the country’s debt limit and that it may need to do so before a deal is reached to rein in future budget deficits.
Obama administration warned the US economy had encountered strong headwinds and the country's fiscal challenge remained grave, but it lowered an estimate for the budget deficit this year.
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the outlook for the US economy remains “unusually uncertain”. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Mr Bernanke said record low interest rates would still be needed to support economic recovery.
United States Senate has given final approval to the biggest overhaul of US financial regulation in decades. The reforms are intended to avert a repeat of the 2008 crisis that brought the world economy to the brink of collapse.