BUDGET

Bernanke: Lift Debt Limit Now

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke issued a stern warning Tuesday, insisting that delaying the lift of the $14.3 trillion debt limit could result in a lack of confidence in America's "creditworthiness", in addition to damaging the dollar's long-term role in global markets. "Maintaining the status quo is not an option," Bernanke said. Budget talks are set to resume Tuesday, and Vice President Joe Biden has said that they must focus on taxes and health-care in order to give Congress some room to raise the debt limit before the government runs out of cash. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department has warned that the government will begin to act on default if Congress doesn't raise the limit by August 2.