May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, asked about concerns over the U.S. governmentâs creditworthiness, said the Obama administration is committed to reducing its budget deficit.
âItâs very important that this Congress and this president put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over the medium term,â he said, adding that the target is at least 3 percent of gross domestic product. âThat is critically important.â
The dollar, Treasuries and American stocks slumped today on concern about the U.S. governmentâs debt rating. Bill Gross, the co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., said today the U.S. âeventuallyâ will lose its AAA grade.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Geithner also said that a rise in Treasury bond yields âis a sign that things are improvingâ and that âthere is a little less acute concern about the depth of the recession.â
The Treasury chief said itâs still âpossibleâ that the unemployment rate may reach 10 percent or higher, cautioning that the economic recovery is still in the âearly stages.â
âThe important thing to recognize is that growth will stabilize and start to increase first before unemployment peaks and starts to come down,â he said. âThese early signs of stability are very importantâ although âthis is still a very challenging period for businesses and families across the United States.â
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I will send Mr. Geithner this book here :
âItâs very important that this Congress and this president put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over the medium term,â he said, adding that the target is at least 3 percent of gross domestic product. âThat is critically important.â
The dollar, Treasuries and American stocks slumped today on concern about the U.S. governmentâs debt rating. Bill Gross, the co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., said today the U.S. âeventuallyâ will lose its AAA grade.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Geithner also said that a rise in Treasury bond yields âis a sign that things are improvingâ and that âthere is a little less acute concern about the depth of the recession.â
The Treasury chief said itâs still âpossibleâ that the unemployment rate may reach 10 percent or higher, cautioning that the economic recovery is still in the âearly stages.â
âThe important thing to recognize is that growth will stabilize and start to increase first before unemployment peaks and starts to come down,â he said. âThese early signs of stability are very importantâ although âthis is still a very challenging period for businesses and families across the United States.â
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adsSSHXGPGwE&refer=home
I will send Mr. Geithner this book here :