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Katy Watson reports on the deal struck over the US budget crisis
Hundreds of thousands of US government employees are heading back to work after President Barack Obama signed a law ending a 16-day government shutdown and extending the US debt limit.
The cross-party deal came hours before the US government risked running out of money to pay its bills.
China welcomed the deal, and the head of the International Monetary Fund called it "important and necessary".
Markets in Asia rose on Thursday, while in Europe they dipped slightly.
Congress voted through the deal less than a day before a deadline to raise the $16.7tn (£10.5tn) debt limit.
It followed 16 days of partial government shutdown, which began when Congress failed to agree on a budget by 1 October.
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Los Angeles views on the political crisis: "I thought it was ridiculous"
The measure approved in Washington funds the government to 15 January, and extends the Treasury's borrowing authority until 7 February.
The deal, however, offers only a temporary solution and does not resolve the budgetary issues that fiercely divide Republicans and Democrats. Instead, it establishes a cross-party committee of legislators tasked with crafting a long-term budget deal over the coming months.
A faction of Republicans in the hardline Tea Party movement had pushed for the confrontation as a way to gut Mr Obama's healthcare reform.
However, Mr Obama and the Democrats refused to negotiate, and the law commonly known as Obamacare has escaped relatively unscathed.
'Must reduce uncertainty'Politicians, bankers and economists had warned of global economic calamity unless an agreement to raise the US government's borrowing limit was reached.
World press reaction
- New York Times editorial: "The Republican Party slunk away on Wednesday from its failed, ruinous strategy to get its way through the use of havoc"
- Commentary in China's The Nan Fang Daily: "If we want to get out of this passive unfavourable situation in the long term, we can only reduce the role of the US dollar and the US debt in the global market"
- Philippe Gelie in France's Le Figaro: "The spectacle presented in Washington over the last few weeks goes beyond the excessive taste of the Americans for political drama"
But IMF head Christine Lagarde's positive response to the news was tempered by a call for further action.
"It will be essential to reduce uncertainty surrounding the conduct of fiscal policy by raising the debt limit in a more durable manner," she said in a statement.
China was among the countries that had called for a swift resolution to the stand-off.
"This issue concerns many countries in the world,'' Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunyin said on Thursday.
"The US is the biggest economy in the world. For them to handle the issue properly is to their own interest and beneficial to their own development - we welcome their decision."
Economists have estimated the shutdown cost the US economy billions of dollars.
The shutdown affected Americans and visitors to the US in countless ways: most national parks were closed, medical research ground to a halt, and ordinary paperwork went unfinished, delaying visa applications, business permits and safety inspections.
Hundreds of thousands of employees were put on leave without pay during the shutdown, with many forced to delay purchases or even payment of routine bills. A few days into the shutdown Congress passed a law ensuring they would receive back pay.
Before dawn on Thursday, the US Office of Personnel Management, which manages the federal workforce, announced in a terse statement on its website that government workers should return to work as regularly scheduled.
A senior manager at the Department of the Interior, which oversees the national parks system and other public land, reminded employees to disable "out of office" email messages, change voicemail prompts, and "check on any refrigerators and throw out any perished food".
"We appreciate your sacrifices through these difficult times and we understand that the lapse in government activities has imposed hardships on you, your families, and the people we serve," Rhea Suh, assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, wrote.
'Missed opportunity'"Start Quote
End QuoteThe idea that this marks a fight back by moderates against the radical right is, I think, wishful thinking by liberals"
Speaking after the Senate had passed the bill on Wednesday evening, President Obama warned that US lawmakers must "earn back the trust of the American people".
"We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis," the Democratic president said.
Spurred on by hardline conservatives, congressional Republicans forced the stand-off by linking budget measures to healthcare reform.
Despite reluctant support from the House Republican leadership for the bill approved on Wednesday, most of the party's lawmakers in the House voted against it.
Among those who opposed it was chairman of the House Budget Committee Paul Ryan, who called the deal a "missed opportunity".
"Today's legislation won't help us reduce our fast-growing debt," he said.
"In my judgement, this isn't a breakthrough. We're just kicking the can down the road."
Republican Senator John McCain told the BBC he was "very relieved" that the political crisis had ended.
"I'm guardedly optimistic and confident that we won't revisit it this way again," he said.
"The reaction of the American people is very, very negative, and understandably so."
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