US economy 'unnerved' by political gridlock

As the global debt crisis continues to send ripples around the world, President Obama has admitted the US economy is not growing quickly enough.

He said the current political environment - the "worst kind of gridlock" - was undermining public confidence and damaging chances of a recovery.

Christina Romer, the former chair of President Obama's council of economic advisers, told the BBC she was surprised at the impact of the credit downgrade, but that the "dysfunction in Washington" had also "unnerved American citizens".