There’s no way around it- this week has been dominated by the debt ceiling debate. It’s been driving market activity, saturating the blogosphere and getting a little too close to reality for comfort. If a deal isn’t reached by the end of business today, the government will have administration officials briefing the nation on what their plan of action is with the money they have left. While we dig in for the 11th hour, here are some excellent articles providing diverse perspectives on the issue:
Markets
- Investors finally getting shook up by the lack of debt ceiling resolution (WSJ)
- With the government close to defaulting on their treasury debts, investors flock to… treasuries? (EconomicPedia)
- The debt ceiling has a 1% of being a “black turkey”? (Bloomberg)
Consequences
- U.S. Dollar Dominance Questioning Hitting a Peak? (ZeroHedge)
- The default-fueled haircut to come (Money Morning)
- CME Comments on Potential Default (no mention of t-bills, of course) (MarketWatch)
The Drama
- Dumbest Moments in Debt Ceiling History (MoneyCNN)
- The government spending patterns that got us here in relation to GDP (Ritholtz)
- Who owns the treasury debt? (Ritholtz)
- Place Your Bets: Odds on a deal being reached (Investing with Options)
- The Man Holding the Fate of the U.S. Credit Rating (NY Post)
Solutions
- Four Former Policy Players on the Options Ahead (CNN)
- A billion easy (and unbelievable) cuts (Reformed Broker)
- The Deadline: Brass Tacks and Perspective on the Deals (Huffington Post)
- The Trillion Dollar Coin Solution (Business Insider)
We know it’s heavy stuff, so we’ve also included a rousing round of reads to help make you forget that the situation isn’t really funny anymore. Just for fun…
- The Raise the Debt Ceiling Rap (Remy on Youtube)
- Some of the best political cartoons out there on the debacle (Politicartoons)
- Armadebton. Enough Said. (Jon Stewart)