Dim hopes that new U.S. panel can reach grand bargain on budget

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's last-minute deal to reopen the government and avert a default sets up the latest congressional committee to try to reach a budget compromise, but some lawmakers say the panel faces an extremely difficult task.

The deal that passed late on Wednesday, just hours before the U.S. Treasury was due to hit its debt limit, does nothing to resolve the bitter differences between Democrats and Republicans over taxes and spending that have provoked several tense standoffs in recent years, setting financial markets on edge.