Saved from fiscal cliff

The jury is still out.

Despite the US' success in averting the fiscal cliff at the turn of the year, the expedient bipartisan agreement is set to cause new problems that will bring about continued uncertainties for the global economy and markets.

The agreement to patch up the potential $600 billion hole is far from a real fix. In two months' time, US policymakers will have to face the more thorny challenge of raising the debt ceiling, which is expected to provoke more alarm in the US and global financial markets.