NEW YORK Here are some stocks that could benefit, according to analysts at U.S. brokerage BTIG, if U.S. lawmakers this week pass a bipartisan deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, avoiding a potentially catastrophic default.
* An agreement to slash funding for the Internal RevenueService by $20 billion is expected to limit the IRS' ability todevelop an electronic tax filing system that would have competedwith tax preparation software companies including Intuit Inc andH & R Block Inc. * Companies in the U.S. defense complex -- such as those inthe S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense index -- should receive a boostfrom the approximately 3% rise in defense spending next year andanother 1% increase in financial year 2025 under the deal. * Equitrans Midstream Corp, the developer of the MountainValley Pipeline that runs through West Virginia, is expected tobenefit because the bill would grant the pipeline all necessarypermits from federal authorities. * The package also reinstates student loan paymentsbeginning this fall, which would increase demand forrefinancings and help student loan originators, particularlySoFi Technologies Inc, BTIG said.(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; editing by Michelle Price, Lance Tupper and Cynthia Osterman)
