House Republicans balk at "fiscal cliff" deal

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) walks from a meeting with House Republicans about a solution for the "fiscal cliff" on Capitol HillWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington's last-minute scramble to step back from a "fiscal cliff" ran into trouble on Tuesday as Republicans in the House of Representatives balked at a deal to avert a budget crisis. Republican leaders in the House said they might try to change the bill approved by the Senate which voted to raise taxes on the wealthy in a late-night show of unity. That would set up a high-stakes game of chicken between the two chambers and risk a stinging rebuke from financial markets that are due to open in Asia in six hours. …