Bernanke was unable to avoid expressing his concerns about the US debt ceiling at his free-for-all question period yesterday.

FORBES: Yield Spotting Makes EUR Roadmap Easier To Read

Senior decision makers across five Administrations, Republican and Democrat, have been unable to avoid the reality that, in a world of continuing globalization and growing political and military uncertainty, the U.S. needs a military that is large enough and has a sufficient range of capabilities to cover multiple major military contingencies in overlapping time frames.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | The Measure of a Superpower: A Two Major Regional Contingency Military for the 21st Century

We simply cannot have the situation where a small business is working hard to pay taxes but unable to compete fairly with rivals playing the system to avoid tax.

WSJ: David Cameron: A British-American Tax and Trade Agenda

With Congress and the White House unable to come up with an agreement to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff or any other budgetary issues for that matter a major portion of pay for doctors from the Medicare program also hangs in the balance.

FORBES: 27% Medicare Pay Cut For Doctors Real Danger In Fiscal Cliff

Early on Catalans, missing suspended skipper Greg Bird, were unable to create much while Super League's second-bottom side Salford, looking to avoid a fifth straight defeat, were well directed by Ratchford.

BBC: Salford 16-18 Catalans Dragons

To avoid allowing a "zombie government" to stagger on for years, unable to muster a majority to pass any new laws, the Fixed Term Parliaments Bill, says an election will be called 14 days after a lost confidence vote if no alternative government is able to show they have the confidence of MPs.

BBC: Q&A: Fixed term parliaments

Strategists say it is best to avoid Turkey and South Africa, where growth is slowing but the central banks may be unable to act because inflation has hit worrisome levels and interest rates are already too low.

WSJ: How to Play Central Banks