Danger and deja vu: what 2011 can tell us about the US debt ceiling crisis

Congress appears to be facing its biggest debt standoff in years - and the consequences of default could be disastrous

Angry at the size of the government debt, House Republicans have passed a bill that ties spending cuts to any lifting of the US's debt limit. A tense fight is escalating, with Democrats refusing to budge and hardline Republicans digging in. Without a solution, economists and others warn, the US could be plunged into an economic catastrophe".

You can be forgiven a sense of deja vu. This has all happened before. Only this time, it could be worse.