The looming threat of a US debt default.

The US government is facing a deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling, and if it fails to do so, the consequences could be dire. Experts predict that a default could lead to a stock market crash, soaring mortgage rates, and a global financial system sent reeling. The impact would quickly spread from financial markets to the broader economy, with a drop in household wealth reducing consumer spending, making it harder to get a loan or start a small business, and causing a pause in regular federal payments to tens of millions of American families. The federal government is projected to spend roughly $6 trillion this year, which translates into roughly $16 billion per day. Not all of that goes directly to households, of course, but it’s a huge amount of money to vanish from the economy overnight.