Fiscal talks fail, US stumbles toward steep budget cuts
The US government stumbled headlong on Friday toward wide-ranging spending cuts that threaten to hinder the nation's economic recovery, after President Barack Obama and congressional leaders failed to find an alternative budget plan.
The inflexible plan, locked in during a bout of deficit-reduction fever in 2011, initiates time-released cuts that can only be halted by agreement between Congress and the White House. (Reuters)
