The US has reached its debt limit of $14.3 trillion (£8.6tn) (WOW!) and is taking measures to cut spending to avoid breaching it.
Treasury secretary Tim Geithner announced that he was suspending payments into two federal pension funds, after the government reached its maximum legal borrowing limit. Geithner said the suspension should allow the US to avoid a default before 2 August (previously set to 8 July) and urged Congress to agree to raise the debt ceiling before this 11-week deadline expires.