The debt ceiling fight is here

The US Treasury Secretary wrote a little note to Congress today, informing lawmakers that on October 17, the country, which currently cannot issue debt, will only have $30 billion in cash on hand. That won’t be enough to cover daily obligations that can reach $60 billion. And that means default, technical or otherwise. Watch out for your portfolio, because the markets won’t like that.

If you want to know what happens should they fail to raise the limit, consult this terrifying flow chart:

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