Senate sends $1.1 trillion spending bill to Obama (8:13 a.m. 12/14/09)

By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Sunday passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with increased budgets for vast areas of the federal government, including health, education, law enforcement and veterans’ programs.
The more-than-1,000-page package, one of the last essential chores of Congress this year, passed 57-35 and now goes to President Barack [...]

Federal budget deficit for November hits $120.3 billion (2:19 p.m. 12/10/09)

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal deficit for the first two months of the new budget year is piling up faster than last year’s record imbalance.
Economists worry the flood of red ink could push interest rates higher and raise the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, a potential drag on the [...]

Obama’s new jobs plans include highway, bridge projects

By Philip Elliott
AP Writer
Washington — President Barack Obama outlined major new government stimulus and jobs proposals on Tuesday, saying the nation must continue to “spend our way out of this recession.”
Without giving a price tag, Obama proposed a package of new spending for highway, bridge and other infrastructure projects, deeper tax breaks for small businesses [...]

Obama wants domestic spending cuts in next budget (4:31 p.m. 11/13/09)

By ANDREW TAYLOR and TOM RAUM
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration, mindful of public anxiety over the government’s mushrooming debt, is shifting emphasis from big-spending policies to deficit reduction. Domestic agencies have been told to brace for a spending freeze or cuts of up to 5 percent as part of a midterm election-year [...]

Obama eyes domestic spending freeze (1:34 p.m. 11/13/09)

By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has alerted domestic agencies to plan for a freeze or even a 5 percent cut in their budgets, part of an election-year push to rein in record deficits that threaten the economy and Democrats’ political prospects next fall.
The deficit-cutting drive comes as President Barack Obama [...]

Trade deficit widens more than expected in September (8:16 a.m. 11/13/09)

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in September as foreign oil prices rose to the highest level in nearly a year, swamping a fifth consecutive gain in exports.
Still, economists expect a rebounding global economy will keep pushing demand for exports higher, helping to bolster the U.S. [...]

Federal deficit sets October record of $176.4 billion (1:47 p.m. 11/12/09)

By DANIEL WAGNER and MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Business Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal deficit hit a record for October as the new budget year began where the old one ended: with the government awash in red ink.
Economists worry that if such deficits continue it could push up interest rates, further dragging on the fragile economic recovery.
The [...]

Recession receding as imports on the rise

Published: August 12, 2009
Tags: deficit, economy, export, import, recession, trade

Martin Crutsinger
AP Economics Writer
Washington — The U.S. trade deficit edged up slightly in June as imports rose for the first time in 11 months, another sign the worst recession since World War II is beginning to loosen its grip on the economy.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday the deficit rose 4 percent to $27 billion, from [...]

Budget decisions could fuel political backlash

Published: July 21, 2009
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, budget, California, Connecticut, deficit, expenses, Illinois, political stakes, recession, Sen. Jake Corman, spending, tax
Comments: 1

Christopher Wills
AP Writer
Springfield, IL — In state after cash-strapped state, lawmakers are fighting a familiar partisan battle over taxing and spending with a new urgency and higher political stakes as they wrestle with multibillion-dollar deficits forcing widespread budget cuts.
Many Democrats have responded to their states’ massive budget gaps by seeking a combination of spending cuts [...]

News Briefs

Published: July 13, 2009
Tags: construction equipment, Deere & Co., deficit, recession, urban policy

Obama starts urban policy outreach with daylong summit at White House
Washington (AP) — President Barack Obama has invited political leaders, city advocates and policy experts to the White House to help his administration start writing a national policy on urban areas.
Obama planned to speak to urban leaders about his team’s first steps during a daylong [...]