As the debt-ceiling deadline looms, political wrangling has escalated, but lawmakers are likely to cobble together an agreement that avoids default.

With the deadline looming for resolving the U.S. debt standoff, concern is rising among international creditors and markets about the largest economy and home of the world's reserve currency.

Bad weather and threatened crops in the United States highlight the continuing problem in food prices and place new attention on global food policy.

Violent protests in Afghanistan against a Florida pastor's Quran burning add another challenge to international security efforts and expose the difficulties in ending this ten-year war.

With the U.S. Treasury approaching its legal borrowing limit, political infighting over the United States' fiscal strategy threatens to thwart international investors and drive up U.S. borrowing costs.

President Obama's State of the Union stressed an agenda to boost competitiveness, bipartisanship, and sacrifice, but critics say he failed to lay out a convincing plan to tackle the country's mounting debt.

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address is expected to focus on improving U.S. competitiveness and the economy. This guide provides a range of background and analysis of the foreign policy implications.

Potential political gridlock over raising the country's debt ceiling could threaten to delay progress on reducing the country's debt and rattle international confidence in the U.S. economy, experts say.

The Obama administration's compromise tax deal with Senate Republicans highlights ongoing debate about potential tradeoffs between tackling U.S. debt and bolstering the U.S. economic recovery.

The recent WikiLeaks disclosures have further shaken U.S.-Pakistan relations. Experts say Pakistan's security establishment must break ties with all militant groups for this partnership to be sustainable in the long term.

The presidential commission on reducing the U.S. deficit fell short of the vote needed to advance to Congress, but analysts said it indicated some bipartisan backing for crucial cuts that would address the country's threatening debt picture.

Bipartisan plans for reining in the U.S. deficit have been billed as crucial for national security. Yet those plans have triggered debate on whether proposed defense and foreign affairs cuts themselves pose a security threat.

This guide provides a range of CFR background and analysis of the foreign policy implications of the 2010 U.S. midterm elections.

Unfavorable news on U.S. poverty and incomes may undermine the Obama administration's struggle to show its economic policies are helping U.S. and global growth.

Dismal U.S. housing data and uncertainty over the Obama administration's housing plans are adding to fears of another recession--and raising new concerns over the global recovery.

The glum economic picture in Europe and the United States has led to a debate on whether or not fiscal spending can stave off recession.

Congressional wrangling over financial reform and the SEC's fraud case against Goldman Sachs could impact SEC powers and encourage stronger derivatives regulation.

President Obama has called for tweaks to the way terror suspects are monitored, but some observers wonder whether the changes will be sufficient to prevent a repeat of the Christmas Day terror plot.

President Obama's decision to transfer Guantanamo inmates to an Illinois prison could speed closure of the facility, but the move has raised both security and civil liberties concerns.

The U.S. attorney general's decision to conduct a preliminary review of past CIA interrogations awakens spirited debate over the scope of the intelligence community's counterterrorism practices.