US debt tops $40 trillion threshold

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The Trump administration sought to lower interest rates with rhetoric and repurchases, as Washington’s debt crossed a significant milestone.
US President Donald Trump reiterated criticism of the Federal Reserve, pressing for it to cut rates, while the Treasury said it would increase purchases of long-dated bonds to contain borrowing costs.
But banks including Barclays, ING, and Goldman Sachs forecast rates would stay unchanged at least through this year; traders are betting on an 80% likelihood of a hike over the next year. The bond buyback, meanwhile, risked a credibility crisis “absent real fiscal consolidation,” JP Morgan economists wrote in a note to clients. That call came as US government debt topped the $40 trillion threshold for the first time.

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