U.S. to exhaust borrowing capacity by October 17

U.S. to exhaust borrowing capacity by October 17:

 Jack Lew, U.S. Treasury Secretary, warned Congress that the United States would exhaust its borrowing capacity by Oct. 17, leaving about $30bn cash on hand. Lew urged Congress to raise $16.7 trillion borrowing limit to avoid upset in financial markets.

Lew's warning yesterday raised fears of a financial crisis and puts the government on the brink of financial default. The Congressional Budget Office also reported separately that the government would run out of free cash between Oct. 22 and Nov. 1.

Mr Lew's letter to congressional leaders said that one single day's net expenditure could be as high as $60bn, with money going out being excess of money coming in and the Treasury being forced to miss or delay payment of some bills.