Senate approves short-term deal to raise debt ceiling and avert economic crisis

Agreement would extend US borrowing authority into December but larger disputes remain

The US Senate has approved a deal to extend the government's borrowing authority into December. The compromise between Republican and Democratic leaders would temporarily avert an unprecedented federal default that experts say would have devastated the economy.

With a 50-48 vote, senators agreed to increase the borrowing limit by $480bn, sufficient to prevent the US government from defaulting by keeping debt payments up until 3 December.