Obama calls for action

Debt Crisis Update

• Financial experts still hopeful
• Obama calls for action
• Congress divided ahead of default deadline
• Raise the ceiling or else?
• Economic stats, U.S. bickering batters TSX

Speaking from the diplomatic reception room at the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama called on U.S. House and Senate leaders to put a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and keep the country out of technical default on his desk as soon as possible.

Saying the time for party loyalty is over and that Americans expect a show of leadership, Obama expressed confidence in legislators’ ability to draft a working proposal prior to the August 2 deadline. He further called on Americans to contact their congressional representatives to express their concerns over the inability of the legislature to reach compromise and demand action.

The issue is of major concern for Canadian corporations, many of which count various U.S. government agencies among their customers. Failure to raise the debt ceiling could also stagnate an already weak global economic recovery and has deep implications for currency, bond, and stock markets worldwide.

View the President’s speech here.

Live announcements from the White House, and floor activity of the US House and Senate, will be carried here throughout today and over the weekend. Coverage appears as it happens and not all channels are carrying video feed at all times. Note, Monday is a normal business day in the U.S. so efforts to hammer out a bill will not be derailed by the long weekend.

In his speech, President Obama urged Democrats and Republicans in the Senate Friday to come together on a plan that can pass the House and that he can sign.

He spoke at the White House as a bill by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to lift the debt ceiling and slash spending remained unexpectedly stalled after Boehner failed to muster the necessary votes. Obama said, “We’re almost out of time.”

Republicans were set to try again Friday and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced plans to move forward on a rival measure ahead of the Tuesday deadline to act or face unprecedented default.