article: Upper chamber leaders resumed work overnight on a deal to raise the US borrowing limit and end a partial government shutdown. Amid the congressional disarray, a top ratings agency warned of a possible downgrade in US creditworthiness. The US must raise its $16.7tn (Â£10.5tn) debt limit by Thursday or risk default. Politicians, bankers and economists have warned of global economic consequences unless an agreement can be reached. By Robert PestonBusiness editor The Democratic-controlled Senate took control on Tuesday night, working on a bipartisan deal that aides said would extend the federal borrowing limit until 7 February and fund the government to mid-January. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, were expected to brief their colleagues on Wednesday. The Senate is due to reconvene at noon (16:00 GMT). But even if a compromise can overcome procedural hurdles, it remains unclear whether it can muster enough votes in the Republican-led House to pass before the 17 October deadline. The Wall Street Journal writes: "None of this is worth a partial government shutdown, much less the risk of a debt default, and both sides are looking like losers." The New York Times urges an end to "debt-ceiling moments", making them "less fraught with peril, less prone to stalemate and more conducive to productive negotiations". The Republicans, says The Washington Post, seem "determined to thrash about in search of something it can call a political win for a few more hours, or days". The Los Angeles Times compares the Republican leaders of the House and Senate saying the latter, Mitch McConnell, has been able to "discern when his party is holding a losing hand and make the decision to cut a deal". Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski warned her colleagues that the US was "hours away from becoming a deadbeat nation, not paying its bills to its own people and other creditors". The Senate's negotiations were initially put on hold on Tuesday to give House Republicans a chance to come up with a deal. But the lower chamber's efforts ended in chaos after two proposals floated in the space of a few hours were torpedoed from right and left, forcing the leadership to shelve plans for a vote. Embattled House Speaker John Boehner failed to rally his fractious rank-and-file Republicans behind either plan. Amid the legislative turmoil, the Fitch credit agency warned it could downgrade the US government's AAA rating, while the Dow Jones index ended the day down 133 points. On Tuesday afternoon, President Barack Obama told a local ABC broadcaster he expected the debt ceiling impasse would be resolved. 23 October: Social Security benefits $12bn 28 October: Federal employee salaries $3bn 30 October: Medicaid payments to providers $2bn 31 October: Interest payment on public debt $6bn 1 November: Medicare payment to providers & plans $18bn; Social Security benefits $25bn; military active pay, retirement and veteran benefits $12bn; supplemental security income benefits $3bn 14 November: Social Security benefits $12bn 15 November: Interest payment on debt $29bn Note: These are the key payments, not all the payments, the US Treasury must make in
summary: Frantic US political attempts to avert a federal debt default have pivoted back to the Senate after plans in the House of Representatives collapsed.