Painkillers do not cure

Even if a last-minute deal in Washington saves the US a debt default for the moment, the world still cannot breathe a sigh of relief for escaping a potentially devastating blow to the global economy.

Instead, the international community should better brace itself for lasting uncertainty over Washington's ability to clean up its fiscal mess.

As long as the US keeps using cheap money as a painkiller to delay hard and necessary economic restructuring, it is more than likely that senseless political brinkmanship over the self-imposed US debt ceiling will repeat itself sooner or later.