UPDATED 14:58 PM EST, January 2, 2013
Financial markets around the world are celebrating the climactic New Year's agreement to avert scheduled tax increases and budget cuts in the United States. But the party could be a short one.
While Congress' action ended a stubborn stalemate and prevented the nation from going over a "fiscal cliff" and possibly tumbling back into recession, the terms of the bipartisan pact helped erect an even larger fiscal precipice.
