WEF 2023: US debt crisis clouds Davos optimism on global economy

More than a decade after one debt-ceiling standoff led to a sovereign US rating downgrade, financial-market turmoil and a weakened economic recovery

The global financial elite gathering in Davos, Switzerland, this week warned of the dangers stemming from the looming US federal debt-limit fight, a potential crisis that overshadowed any cheer from a reopening of China’s economy and diminishing recession risks in Europe.

“The idea that we’re even talking about this after what we’ve seen in the past, to me, is very disappointing,” Ronald O’Hanley, chief executive officer of State Street Corp., told Bloomberg Television in Davos. “This is not the way a political fight should occur. Markets haven’t priced it in.”

More than a decade after one debt-ceiling standoff