U.S. President Barack Obama, busy making plans for his second term, will make a statement at the White House Friday on the still shaky U.S. economy.
Analysts say they do not expect Obama to announce any new proposals, but instead will urge Congress to do what it can to avoid the automatic deep spending cuts and tax hikes that would take effect on January 1st.
Economists call the deadline a "fiscal cliff," saying it could push the U.S. economy back into recession.
President Obama won reelection this week in part because of his support for tax increases for Americans making more than $250,000 a year. Many Republicans fiercely oppose tax increases for anyone. But Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner said Wednesday he is open to some form of new government revenues, as long as they include changes to programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says no one will be "messing with Social Security" as part of any compromise.
President Obama defeated Republican Mitt Romney Tuesday to win a second four-year term.
The White House says the president has been receiving congratulatory messages from other world leaders. It says the president appreciates the messages and looks forward to continuing to work with all his fellow leaders to address global challenges.
The White House said the president spoke with 13 world leaders Thursday - British Prime Minister David Cameron, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, French President Francois Hollande, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.