US President Barack Obama called an urgent White House summit with key Democratic allies on Saturday as his Republican foes said fever-pitch efforts to avert a disastrous debt default would soon pay o

The Republican-led House of Representatives rejected a proposal on Saturday from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to avert a US debt default with ruinous global consequences.

Lawmakers vo

The top Republican in the Senate said Sunday he was ‘very close’ to reaching an agreement with Democrats on a deal to raise the US debt ceiling and avoid default.

"I'm very close to being able to rec

The US economy stagnated in the first half of 2011, official data showed on Friday, raising new recession alarms as political gridlock over deficits leads the country to the brink of a debt default.