FINANCIAL TIMES: New figures released by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office showed the US budget deficit falling to $642bn, or 4 per cent of gross domestic product.
The CBO figures mark a $203bn improvement over its earlier projection only three months ago and a sharp reduction compared with the $1.1tn deficit of 2012, or 7 per cent of GDP. The CBO predicted the deficit would decrease further to 3.4 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2014 and 2.1 per cent the year after, before it starts rising again.
The figures were released as the New York Fed said households were continuing to reduce debt, by $110bn in the first quarter of the year. The number of loans that are more than 90 days behind on a payment also fell from 6.3 per cent to 6 per cent. The figures show the improvement in household finances, but also suggest that consumers will only increase their spending slowly… (more)
