Photo: EPA
The US remains the world’s biggest sovereign debtor. In 2014, its debt is expected to amount to 76% of the annual GDP. By 2018, the figure is likely to go down, but only slightly – to approximately 71% of the GDP.
Last week, the Congressional Budget Office
said it expects this year’s federal deficit to amount to $642bln. This
would be about $200bln less than in 2012 and represent a reduction from
7% of the GDP to just 4% of the GDP. The deficit would be at its lowest
in 5 years.
On Monday, Moody’s – which together with
Fitch still keeps the US at the top of its rating scale – welcomed the
Office’s forecasts as inspiring hope. On Tuesday, however, Moody’s Vice
President Stephen Hess warned the US of a downgrade in the event it
fails to sort out its debt and deficit problems.
We have an opinion from Dr Geldy Soyunov, a senior analyst of Russia’s Alpha Bank:
"I
believe Moody’s is urging the congressional Democrats and the
congressional Republicans to waste no time in finding a solution to
their country’s fiscal mess."
Analyst of the
Moscow-based Kapital company Dr Konstantin Gulev explains the nature of
the disagreements between the two major American parties:
"The
Democrats would reduce the deficit by raising taxes, and the
Republicans, by slashing expenditure. Unless these
conflicting approaches are somehow reconciled, the US will have its
Moody’s rating revised downwards."
Moody’s expects the
US economy to expand by 2% in 2013, creating 2mln jobs. The year 2012
brought a similar number of new working positions.
No comments:
Post a Comment