US congressional leaders were scheduled to convene on Friday at the White House for last-minute talks on a "fiscal cliff" deal that avoids automatic tax increases and broad spending cuts that threaten the economy's nascent recovery, but there were no signs that a proposal palatable to both sides was taking shape.

The meeting with top members of Congress was planned as US President Barack Obama returned early from a Hawaiian holiday and just four days before the government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff if no deal is reached.

The bitter partisan fight is over reining in deficit spending by raising taxes for some wealthy earners - the Democrats' priority - and cutting some popular benefit programs, as demanded by Republicans.