Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Asian stock markets are all negative today,
in fear that the U.S. is heading towards the closure of government
services.
Shares in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia are dropping. The Nikkei in Tokyo fell to less than 1.7%, Hong Kong to minus 1.2; Seoul to
minus 0.7. Taiwan and Singapore are also negative.
According to analysts, the
markets are expressing concern about the
decisions of the U.S. Congress. The
United States must renegotiate a new budget - which includes
the new health care costs desired by Barack Obama
with the system Obamacare - by midnight today.
If the politicians are not in agreement, the government will shut down its services and at least one third of its more than 2 million employees will
not work. Certainly
could close national parks and museums, offices, public service visas, passports and pensions would suffer delays. Only
urgent utility services,
such as air traffic control and health
inspections, would not be stopped.
The last government shutdown occurred for 21 days from
December 1995 to January 1996. The
current standoff is
only a prelude to what will
probably happen in mid-October when
the senate and representatives must vote to increase (or stop) the ceiling for public expenditure.
The Treasury Secretary has already
warned that on October 17 the
U.S. will hit the debt ceiling, leaving
the government with only half the money needed to pay its bills.