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US debt ceiling

US debt ceiling
The debt ceiling is the legal limit on the amount of money the US government can borrow. Since 1960, Congress has increased the debt ceiling 79 times - 49 times under Republican presidents and 30 times under Democratic presidents.
People walk past a bus stand displaying the US national debt in Washington, DC on October 7, 2025. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

Editorial | US debt dysfunction puts the global economy at risk

America’s inability to get its financial house in order risks market turmoil at home and spillovers abroad.

Banking & finance

US federal debt becoming ‘alarmingly unsustainable’ as Iran war fuels spending

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Two Sessions 2026

China pledges ‘iron discipline’ to tackle debt as US borrowing surges

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Banking & finance

‘Stability risk’: US faces rising concern as global debt soars to record high

Global debt accumulation ‘accelerated sharply’ in 2025, driven by surging investment in the US, China and Europe, report finds.

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Massive investment in artificial intelligence data centres has contributed to a rapid build-up in global debt levels over the past year, according to a new report. Photo: Shutterstock
Banking & finance

‘America First’ Fed? Why China economists doubt Trump’s pick can boost US dollar

Kevin Warsh unlikely to deliver long-term rebound while central bank independence still at risk, analysts say.

US-China relations

China dumps more US debt, buys other assets as Trump targets Powell

Beijing’s Treasury holdings hit a September 2008 low, and analysts point to fears over Fed independence and debt sustainability, while gold’s appeal rises.

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US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | Forget Venezuela and Greenland – here is the real trillion-dollar question

As the world fixates on US military adventurism, trillion-dollar shifts in trade, R&D and debt are rebalancing the global economy and geopolitics.

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China has become the first nation to post a US$1 trillion annual trade surplus, while the US is adding that much to its national debt every 71 days. Photo: Reuters
United States

Opinion | Will the US republic survive stress test of Trump’s presidency?

America is facing a rare array of pressures including expanding executive powers, strategic dependencies, legitimacy deficits and fiscal rigidity.

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US-China trade war

China sells US Treasuries, buys gold

Chinese holdings of US government debt fell to US$731 billion in July, trailing Japan and the UK, while gold reserves kept on climbing.

China debt

In China, Ray Dalio discusses global debt issues as Beijing seeks his counsel

With local-level debt still posing risks in China, while US borrowing accelerates, Beijing turns to the Wall Street veteran for guidance while navigating precarious financial waters.

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Billionaire global macro investor Ray Dalio, seen here in May 2024, spoke this week with top Chinese officials in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
China debt

As China defuses its time bomb of debt, US hears the ticking intensify

Why do analysts see America’s debt situation as ‘more concerning’, and why is China’s situation a ‘big advantage’?

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US President Donald Trump signed his “Big Beautiful Bill” into law last month, raising the debt ceiling by US$5 trillion. Photo: Getty Images
China debt

Why did a Chinese economist slam Ray Dalio on debt situations in US, China?

Xu Gao’s 9,000-word article, ‘Where Did Dalio Go Wrong on National Debt?’, comes as China’s Politburo is preparing to set policy tone for rest of year.

Cryptocurrency

Opinion | In debt-bloated US, stablecoin a new financial weapon in the making

Forget austerity, Trump has ‘big, beautiful’ spending plans and is exploring US bank-backed stablecoin to turn the spreadsheets around.

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Donald Trump

Trump tax law projected to add US$3.4 trillion to US deficits

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ was signed into law on July 4 after months of negotiations with congressional Republicans.

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US President Donald Trump. Photo:Zuma Press Wire / dpa
US-China trade war

China cuts US Treasury stockpiles to the lowest level since 2009

Beijing shed more US debt in May as trade tensions flared and Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ sparked alarm.

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Chinese yuan banknotes are sandwiched between several US dollar bills. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa
US-China relations

Will Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ offer opportunities for China?

Some analysts believe the tax and spending act will ‘cause some trouble’, but others say there could be an upside for Beijing.

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United States

Opinion | Decades of America’s ‘exorbitant privilege’ is ending, thanks to Trump

The US president is systematically destroying faith in the dollar in global financial markets and among governments and central banks.

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Banking & finance

Did Trump get his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ at the US dollar’s expense?

Analysts say the sweeping budget act resolves the immediate debt crisis, but the resultant deficit could accelerate global de-dollarisation.

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US President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget act, soon to become law, raises worries over the country’s long-term debt burden. Photo: AFP
Donald Trump

Trump’s budget bill is a debt bomb. Can the ‘Pennsylvania Plan’ defuse it?

New framework offers recommendations to reduce foreign holdings of US debt – a sum estimated to grow by trillions if spending bill is passed.

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US-China trade war

China sells US Treasuries

China’s holdings of US government bonds fell to US$757 billion in April, behind those of Japan and the UK, as its gold reserves rose.

US-China trade war

China cuts US Treasury stockpiles to 16-year low amid Trump’s trade war

As tariffs rattled markets in April, Beijing’s US debt holdings fell to their lowest level since 2009.

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Photo shows US dollar and Chinese yuan banknotes in Fuyang city, East China’s Anhui province. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
United States

Trump’s big tax-cut bill advances as debt concerns mount

Millions could lose Medicaid coverage under the bill, which analysts say will add trillions of dollars to US debt over the next 10 years.

Clouds roll over the US Capitol in Washington ahead of a rare Sunday night session of the House Budget Committee. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Moody’s downgrade, US debt fears revive mini ‘sell America’ trade

Rating downgrade risks reinforcing Wall Street’s growing worries over the US sovereign bond market.

United States

Opinion | Mar-a-Lago Accord a high-stakes gamble on world’s trust in US dollar

A scheme to devalue the dollar proposed by one of the US president’s economic advisers should alarm both Americans and the wider world.

China technology

Opinion | How DeepSeek’s disruption could finally burst the US stock bubble

US stocks bounced back on DeepSeek doubts. But it’s the real deal and it threatens assumptions of US AI dominance that underpin the market.

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TV news at the Nasdaq headquarters in Times Square highlights the extent of the market drop on January 27 in New York, US. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Macroscope | Trump’s ‘big stick diplomacy’ won’t go far in today’s world system

Conflicting monetary goals and budget constraints will undermine the administration’s ability to exert influence from a position of strength.

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American and South Korean soldiers salute during a change of command and change of responsibility ceremony at a US military base, in Seoul, South Korea, in 2017. Photo: AP
Banking & finance

Opinion | In a world fraught with risk, Trump will add to the bumps

Amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions, investors are counting on the US central bank to keep printing money.

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United States

Opinion | Why a Trump economic boom is much less likely this time around

Trump is once again inheriting a strong US economy but the world is more volatile, and US debt and interest rates are much higher.

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