January 25 2013 New US Treasury Secretary

The budget debate will take place as Obama retools his economic team. Geithner, who is scheduled to leave his Treasury post on Jan. 25, is viewed favorably by 51 percent of those surveyed compared with 38 percent who regard him unfavorably. Jack Lew, nominated by Obama to replace him as Treasury secretary, is a blank slate for investors; 54 percent say they have no opinion about the current White House chief of staff. Ninety-two percent of investors, traders and analysts surveyed say it’s unlikely the U.S. will default on its debt. The wrangling over the U.S. fiscal position has taken a toll on the credit-rating companies’ reputations. Since Standard & Poor’s downgraded U.S. debt in August 2011, the 10-year yield has fallen from 2.56 percent. In the Bloomberg poll, 26 percent of investors say they don’t value the rating companies’ opinions as much as they once did, while 9 percent say they no longer put any stock in their views. Thirty-one percent say the companies were “never useful,” andhttp://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/budget-discord-in-u-s-is-top-threat-to-global-economy-in-poll.html