ECB's Trichet confident U.S. will tackle debt woes (by William L. Watts)

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday said he was confident U.S. policy makers will tackle the nation's debt problems, news reports said. "I am confident that the U.S. will redress their budgetary situation," Trichet said, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The remarks come after Standard & Poor's earlier this week cut its outlook on the country's AAA credit rating to negative, citing concerns that officials haven't reached a consensus on how to deal with the nation's budget problems. Trichet said debt problems were "serious" in almost all advanced countries and urged governments to prudently manage public finances, the report said. The euro (cur_eurusd) trimmed a gain versus the dollar to trade at $1.4606, a rise of 0.7% from Wednesday.