ID :
197311
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 13:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/197311
The shortlink copeid
US debt deal important for everyone: Blair
SYDNEY (AAP) - July 26 - Prime Minister Julia Gillard has boasted that many world leaders would cut off their right arm to be in Australia's financial position.
Still, many would probably rather just see the US avoid the potential devastating impact of the world's largest economy defaulting on their debt before inflicting self-amputation.
With just a week to go before the August 2 deadline, and no deal in sight, US President Barack Obama has warned Republicans that they are playing a "dangerous game".
President Obama delivered the warning in a rare prime time televised speech as Republicans and Democrats remained deadlocked over a deal to raise the US debt ceiling and bring ballooning deficits under control.
"That is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. It is a dangerous game we've never played before, and we can't afford to play it now. Not when the jobs and livelihoods of so many families are at stake," he said.
The president's hard line failed to impress financial markets, with the US dollar being dumped, resulting in the Australian dollar rising above 109 US cents for the first time since early May.
Visiting former British prime minister Tony Blair described the US standoff as "troubling" but hoped that an eleventh hour deal would be struck before defaulting for the first time in its history.
"Everyone hopes and believes that shortly before midnight the deal will be done that allows the situation to stabilise. It is dramatically important for everyone that it does," Mr Blair told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Mr Blair, who is in Australia as part of a speaking tour, believed President Obama was correct in trying to make a long-term deal to sort out problems that have been building up over time and exposed during the global financial crisis.
"Not one that kicks the can down the road, actually not very far down the road, because that's not going to help anyone," Mr Blair said following talks with Ms Gillard.
"This is a troubling and anxious moment for the world economy, for sure."
Ms Gillard said Australia was not immune from world events, but its strong economy was in very different circumstances.
"Whenever I talk to leaders from overseas, most of them would happily cut their right arm off in order to have the kind of economic indicators we have got in this country," she said.
The US August 2 deadline coincides with the Reserve Bank of Australia's next monthly board meeting, although economists generally expect no change in the official cash rate until later in the year.
A speech by central bank governor Glenn Stevens in Sydney didn't take the debate over future interest rate moves any further, ahead of Wednesday's crucial consumer price index for the June quarter.
In an address focused on Australian consumers, Mr Stevens believed it was reasonable for people to spend less in the face of uncertainty.
"It is entirely possible that, were some of the current raft of uncertainties to lessen, the mood could lift noticeably, so I don't think we need to be totally gloomy," Mr Stevens told the Anita Foundation.
TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said the governor's measured speech didn't show a great deal of concern about current below-trend consumer spending and a sharp rise in savings.
"It certainly didn't feel like the Bank supported more recent calls for lower cash rates to restimulate private consumption, but a near-term cash rate hike isn't on the agenda either," she said.
Still, many would probably rather just see the US avoid the potential devastating impact of the world's largest economy defaulting on their debt before inflicting self-amputation.
With just a week to go before the August 2 deadline, and no deal in sight, US President Barack Obama has warned Republicans that they are playing a "dangerous game".
President Obama delivered the warning in a rare prime time televised speech as Republicans and Democrats remained deadlocked over a deal to raise the US debt ceiling and bring ballooning deficits under control.
"That is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. It is a dangerous game we've never played before, and we can't afford to play it now. Not when the jobs and livelihoods of so many families are at stake," he said.
The president's hard line failed to impress financial markets, with the US dollar being dumped, resulting in the Australian dollar rising above 109 US cents for the first time since early May.
Visiting former British prime minister Tony Blair described the US standoff as "troubling" but hoped that an eleventh hour deal would be struck before defaulting for the first time in its history.
"Everyone hopes and believes that shortly before midnight the deal will be done that allows the situation to stabilise. It is dramatically important for everyone that it does," Mr Blair told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Mr Blair, who is in Australia as part of a speaking tour, believed President Obama was correct in trying to make a long-term deal to sort out problems that have been building up over time and exposed during the global financial crisis.
"Not one that kicks the can down the road, actually not very far down the road, because that's not going to help anyone," Mr Blair said following talks with Ms Gillard.
"This is a troubling and anxious moment for the world economy, for sure."
Ms Gillard said Australia was not immune from world events, but its strong economy was in very different circumstances.
"Whenever I talk to leaders from overseas, most of them would happily cut their right arm off in order to have the kind of economic indicators we have got in this country," she said.
The US August 2 deadline coincides with the Reserve Bank of Australia's next monthly board meeting, although economists generally expect no change in the official cash rate until later in the year.
A speech by central bank governor Glenn Stevens in Sydney didn't take the debate over future interest rate moves any further, ahead of Wednesday's crucial consumer price index for the June quarter.
In an address focused on Australian consumers, Mr Stevens believed it was reasonable for people to spend less in the face of uncertainty.
"It is entirely possible that, were some of the current raft of uncertainties to lessen, the mood could lift noticeably, so I don't think we need to be totally gloomy," Mr Stevens told the Anita Foundation.
TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said the governor's measured speech didn't show a great deal of concern about current below-trend consumer spending and a sharp rise in savings.
"It certainly didn't feel like the Bank supported more recent calls for lower cash rates to restimulate private consumption, but a near-term cash rate hike isn't on the agenda either," she said.
