BBC News with Zoe Diamond

President Obama has invited Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress to the White House in the wake of mid-term elections in which he lost his party's majority in the House of Representatives. He said action was needed on extending tax breaks for middle-class families, on unemployment insurance and on measures to give businesses somewhat certainty about the tax regime they'll face.

"Obviously what's going to be critically important over the coming months is creating a better working relationship between this White House and the congressional leadership that's coming in, as well as the congressional leadership that carries over from the previous Congress. And so I want everybody to know that I've already called a meeting here at the White House on 18 November. This is going to be a meeting in which I'll want us to talk substantively about how we can move the American people's agenda forward."