Yellen says U.S. highly likely to default on debt by early June

STORY: Yellen says U.S. highly likely to default on debt by early June DATELINE: May 24, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:05 LOCATION: Washington D.C. CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at a U.S. Senate hearing (file) 2. various of exterior of U.S. Department of the Treasury 3. various of Biden meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on debt ceiling at the White House 4. various of exterior of the White House 5. various of exterior of the U.S. Capitol STORYLINE: The United States is "highly likely" to default on government obligations by early June and potentially as early as June 1 if the Congress fails to raise or suspend the debt limit, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in an update letter to congressional leaders on Monday. Yellen gave a similar estimate in another letter one week ago. Waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxp