(SAYING) But Ochoa admits that continued oil revenues, even if insufficient to cover mounting government expenditures, will allow President Chavez to put off, any day of reckoning that may loom ahead.

VOA: standard.2010.08.06

While the fiscal cliff did not seem to cut off the recovery in December, two problems loom large, each capable of keeping business sentiment dim: the debt ceiling and the sequester.

FORBES: U.S. Growth Still Sluggish: 155,000 New Jobs In Dec., Unemployment Higher At 7.8%

The US defence department says it has begun laying off most of its 46, 000 temporary employees, as automatic defence budget cuts loom in March.

BBC: Pentagon laying off 46,000 staff