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