When you invite guests over, you probably straighten up the house to make a good impression.
This week, the nation's capital is welcoming guests from all over the world. Thousands of finance ministers, central bankers, scholars and industry leaders are in Washington, D.C., for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
But instead of being impressed by the buffed-up home of the world's superpower, the guests are finding a capital in disarray. The federal government is still partly shut down and Congress has not yet agreed to avoid a debt default.
The disorder is prompting a lot of criticism of the United States, and concerns about U.S. economic leadership in the world.
If Congress does not end its political crisis, "it will have financial consequences that will apply not just to this country, but across the globe, given the strong inter-connectedness between the various economies," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said during a panel discussion on Thursday.
On Friday, even as they heard reports about U.S. lawmakers floating possible solutions and meeting at the White House, foreign officials remained worried and wary at the IMF gathering.
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