Slipping towards the fiscal slope  US House Speaker John Boehner
House Speaker John Boehner had hoped Republicans would accept
his 'Plan B'  Everyone - including the financial markets -
thought President Obama and the Republican leadership were on
course to some kind of budget deal. It wouldn't be pretty, but
they would find some way to delay or prevent most of the $600bn
in tax rises and spending cuts that will otherwise hit the
economy on 1 January.  Not any more. Right now, they don't seem
to be on any path at all. The only good news for President Obama
is that he is not going to get the blame. Against the odds, the
events of the past few days have strengthened his hand relative
to the Republicans, who were already disadvantaged by the result
of the Presidential election.  What happens to the economy as a
result of all this may well depend on how and whether he and his
fellow Democrats decide to use that new power.  Remember how we
got here: in the days after the election, many hoped that
President Obama's