, Nov 30 (Reuters) – With barely a month left
before the “fiscal cliff,” Republicans and Democrats remained
far apart on Friday in talks to avoid the across-the-board tax
hikes and spending cuts that threaten to throw the country back
into recession.

While President Barack Obama visited a Pennsylvania toy
factory to muster public support for tax hikes on the rich,
portraying Republicans as scrooges at Christmas time, his
primary adversary in negotiations, Republican House Speaker John
Boehner, continued to describe the situation as a stalemate.

By Mark Felsenthal

HATFIELD, Penn. (Reuters) – President Barack Obama turned up the pressure in “fiscal cliff” talks on Friday, hitting the road to drum up support for his drive to raise taxes on the wealthy and warning Americans that Republicans were offering them “a lump of coal” for Christmas.

In a visit to a Pennsylvania toy factory, Obama portrayed congressional Republicans as Scrooges who risked sending the country over the fiscal cliff rather than strike a deal to avert the tax increases and spending cuts that begin in January unless Congress intervenes.

By Mark Felsenthal

HATFIELD, Penn. (Reuters) – President Barack Obama turned up the pressure in “fiscal cliff” talks on Friday, hitting the road to drum up support for his drive to raise taxes on the wealthy and warning Americans that Republicans were offering them “a lump of coal” for Christmas.

In a visit to a Pennsylvania toy factory, Obama portrayed congressional Republicans as Scrooges who risked sending the country over the fiscal cliff rather than strike a deal to avert the tax increases and spending cuts that begin in January unless Congress intervenes.

, Nov 30 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama
hit the road on Friday to turn up pressure on Republicans in
the “fiscal cliff” talks, urging Americans to support his drive
to raise taxes on the wealthy while extending tax cuts for the
middle class.

In a Christmas-season visit to a toy factory, Obama
portrayed congressional Republicans as Scrooges who risked
sending the country over the fiscal cliff rather than strike a
deal to avert the tax increases and spending cuts that begin in
January unless Congress intervenes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he hoped to reach an agreement with Congress before Christmas to avoid the looming “fiscal cliff” and shrink the budget deficit, and ramped up efforts to rally the public to press Republicans for action.

Obama encouraged Americans to use Twitter – with the hashtag #My2K – and other social media to swamp their lawmakers with requests to act quickly to keep their tax rates low.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday backed President Barack Obama’s planned push for U.S. immigration reform, pledged cooperation on border security and promised efforts to reduce violence in his own country.

Three weeks after winning re-election, Obama held White House talks with Pena Nieto, who is due to take office on Saturday, to begin forging a personal bond and discuss shared challenges that have sometimes created fraught relations between their countries.

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s
intensive lobbying to avert big year-end tax hikes and spending
cuts resumed over the weekend as he spoke with senior corporate
chieftains, including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and legendary
investor Warren Buffett.

Dimon has been a harsh critic of tougher rules imposed on
the financial services industry after the 2007-2009 recession,
but last month backed Obama’s goal of raising taxes on top
earners to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Top Republicans emerged from
a meeting at the White House on Friday saying they are prepared
to agree to additional revenue in order to avert looming harsh
tax hikes and spending cuts, as long as there also are
reductions in spending.

“To show our seriousness, we’ve put revenue on the table as
long as it’s accompanied by significant spending cuts,” House
Speaker John Boehner told reporters at the White House.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said he and congressional leaders must quickly get down to work to avert upcoming automatic tax hikes and spending cuts as he sat down for talks with lawmakers on Friday.

“I think we’re all aware that we have some urgent business to do,” the president told reporters.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) – President Barack
Obama was due to visit areas of New York still without power on
Thursday, 17 days after Superstorm Sandy tore across the eastern
seaboard, showing his ongoing concern for victims of the storm
even as his administration turns to budget and international
challenges.

The federal government’s preparation and immediate reaction
to the storm were swift and drew none of the criticism directed
at former President George W. Bush following Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. Obama even earned rave reviews from some of his
political opponents.