With the last hours of 2012 ticking rapidly away in the U.S. the White House and congressional lawmakers reached a deal to avert an impending plunge off the fiscal cliff.<br/> <br />Without a deal some 600 billion dollars of tax hikes and spending cuts were due to kick in on January 1st, 2013.<br/> <br />An Obama administration source said the deal would delay the harsh measures but only for two months.<br/> <br />The source said half would come from defence and the other half from non-defence areas.<br/> <br />The agreement includes a balance of spending cuts and revenue increases to pay for the delay in spending cuts.
