Obama cancels trip to Asia

On Friday, the White House announced that Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the U.S. delegation at the summit in Bali, Indonesia, and in Brunei. Meanwhile, President Obama was forced to cancel other planned trips to Malaysia and the Philippines. Since early Friday morning, attempts by Democrats and Republicans to resolve the budget conflict have not led to any real successes, and this standoff has partially paralyzed federal operations. The situation with the temporary shutdown, which has been in effect since last Tuesday, has already had a serious impact on the work of about 800,000 federal employees, which accounts for a third of the entire federal workforce. The National Transportation Safety Board was unable to send its investigators to Tennessee to investigate the church bus crash that resulted in eight fatalities. The Department of Labor announced that it would not publish an important employment report for September on Friday.

At a meeting held on Thursday, the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected numerous attempts by Republicans to pass separate budget measures concerning popular federal agencies, such as national parks, while simultaneously proposing to repeal or delay the Affordable Care Act enacted by Obama.

Warning from the IMF

The Chair of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, warned the United States against allowing the government shutdown situation to worsen further.“The government shutdown is already a serious issue, but if the debt ceiling is not raised, it will turn into a real disaster that could negatively impact not only the U.S. economy but the global economy as a whole.”- she stated.

During his visit to Maryland, located near Washington, Obama sharply criticized Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who stated on Wednesday that the president is unwilling to negotiate.“Vote, put an end to this spectacle, and immediately stop the shutdown.”- said Obama."Speaker Boehner doesn't even allow the bill to be brought to a vote because he doesn't want to anger the staunch conservatives within his party,"- he added. In response, Boner noted that the temporary suspension of the government's work could end if the president agrees to negotiations regarding"shortcomings"in the program“Obamacare”...designed to provide health insurance to millions of Americans who were previously uninsured. This program is a key part of Obama's political legacy and has sparked negative reactions among Tea Party conservatives.“We are trying to figure out if we can get the Senate and the president to start a discussion with us, but they just don’t want to talk.”- noted Republican Mario Diaz-Balart from Florida.

Economic consequences

On the stock markets, there was a significant decline on Thursday, and the dollar fell to its lowest level in eight months amid concerns that the budget conflict could become more complicated due to the upcoming debates on raising the borrowing limit for the U.S. On Thursday, the Treasury Department warned about"catastrophic"the consequences if a default on government debt occurs, noting that the inability to pay bills could become a major problem for American families and businesses, potentially leading to a recession deeper than the crisis of 2007-2009. Despite the shutdown, workers classified as essential, such as air traffic controllers, border agents, and most inspectors, continue to perform their duties.