Obama calls for fiscal cliff deal
Barack Obama has made a final call for compromise on a financial deal as the US teeters on the fiscal cliff.
A day before politicians are due to reach an agreement to stop automatic tax hikes and spending cuts kicking in on 1 January, the US president blasted Congressional Republicans for pandering to the wealthy instead of helping to reach a deal.
"They say that their biggest priority is making sure that we deal with the deficit in a serious way, but the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected. That seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme," he told NBC's Meet the Press.
President Obama warned that if a deal was not reached, there would be an "adverse reaction in the markets" and would "hurt our economy badly".