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US Congress agrees eleventh hour debt deal
The US Congress has passed a bill to reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit, with just hours to spare before the nation risked default.
The Democratic-controlled Senate’s bipartisan compromise won approval by 81 votes to 18.
The deal was then passed by 285-144 in the House of Representatives, despite much criticism from the Republican rank and file.
It came hours before the deadline to raise the $16.7tn (£10.5tn) limit was expected to expire, pulling the US back from the brink of economic disaster.
The bill extended the treasury’s borrowing authority until 7 February.
It also funds the government to 15 January, reopening closed federal agencies and bringing hundreds of thousands of employees back to work.
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President Barack Obama signed the bill into law early on Thursday morning, ending fears of a US default.
However, the situation is far from resolved – although markets across the US closed higher, the Democrats and Republicans are still divided over the budget and it will have to be renegotiated early next year.