Australia to raise debt limit to A$500bil

SYDNEY: Australia’s new conservative government plans to raise its debt ceiling by two-thirds to A$500bil (US$483bil), according to Treasurer Joe Hockey, heading off concerns the country could reach its limit before Christmas.

“The debt limit needs to be set so as to provide sufficient headroom to ensure there is stability and certainty for the financial markets about the government’s capacity to finance its operations for the foreseeable future,” Hockey said.