US to reassure China on fiscal discipline – FT.com
By Krishna Guha in Washington May 29 2009US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will reassure Chinese leaders that the US is commited to long-term fiscal discipline on his trip next week to Beijing, a senior Treasury official said on Thursday.
Mr Geithner will also urge his hosts to accelerate moves to shift the composition of China’s economy, so it relies less on exports and more on domestic demand, the official added.
His comments came amid heightened concern in US markets about China’s continued appetite for US government bonds and other assets and anxiety in China about potential losses on its US investments.
Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Fed, on Thursday challenged the view that foreign central banks are shying away from longer duration Treasuries, saying “there continues to be strong demand”.
But he highlighted the severe fiscal challenges facing the administration – including what he estimated was $104,000bn in unfunded entitlement liabilities – and said the US central bank “can ill-afford to be perceived as monetising debt”.
FT.com / US / Economy & Fed – US to reassure China on fiscal discipline.
FYI… $104,000bn = $104,000,000,000,000.00 = $104 TRILLION
Related posts:
