Ben Bernanke says US debt default would be major crisis

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Ben Bernanke, has said it is in the world's interests that the US can come to an agreement on its debt crisis very soon.

The US national debt is more than $14 trillion and talks between Congress and the Obama administration appear close to deadlock.

If no deal is reached in the next three weeks, the United States could theoretically default.