Budget Talks Cloud Outlook.

The article examines how U.S. politicians are working as of December 2012 to prevent the tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January 2013. Topics include the likelihood that U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Congress will only reach a partial agreement to prevent "fiscal cliff," how the lack of compromise would affect small businesses, and charts documenting how a compromise would affect U.S. economic forecasts between 2012 and 2020.