Moody's sounds alarm over U.S. debt limit and deficits

By Daniel Bases and Donna Smith

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON | Thu Jun 2, 2011 9:23pm EDT

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's warned on Thursday it would consider cutting the United States' coveted top-notch credit rating if the White House and Congress do not make progress by mid-July in talks to raise the debt limit.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, seeking to convince Congress to increase his borrowing authority and prevent a government default, went to Capitol Hill to press his case in a 45-minute meeting with first-term lawmakers.

"I am confident that two things are going to happen this summer," Geithner told reporters after the meeting. "One is that we are going to avoid a default crisis and we are going to reach agreement on a long-term fiscal plan."

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/03/us-usa-debt-idUSTRE74E1HD20110603?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews