Deadlock continues over US debt crisis

US lawmakers remain deadlocked over plans to raise the country's 14.3 trillion dollar debt ceiling and address the budget deficit. As time marches on Republican and Democratic leaders are trying to find common ground with less than a week before the government hits its borrowing limit approved by Congress.
The implications of that could mean triggering a possible default that would affect global markets.
Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, are looking at a two-step plan that would extend the debt ceiling for six months, coupled with about 1.2 trillion dollars in spending cuts.
But President Barack Obama said he would veto such a short-term extension, and ratings agencies said it might not be enough to avert a downgrade of America's triple-A credit rating.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said both parties must make concessions.
The White House said on Tuesday it was working with Congress to craft an unspecified "Plan B,".
Providing therefore a glimmer of hope that an 11th-hour deal could be reached as lawmakers feel the pressure from increasingly anxious financial markets.
The failure reach a compromise may not just affect the US.

The chief of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde has underlined that it could have damaging consequences for the global economy. Listen