The Democratic leader in the Senate has declared that US politicians are likely to fail in their quest to find a solution to the fiscal cliff budget crisis. With five days to find a political solution before massive tax hikes and spending cuts kick in, Nevada senator Harry Reid said the deadline would probably be missed. "It looks like that's where we're headed", he said on the Senate floor on Thursday. Reid's gloomy acknowledgement of the failure of bipartisan negotiations triggered a sell-off on US stock markets. US senators returned to work on Thursday after the Christmas break, and Barack Obama cut short his ... (full story)