Finance chiefs and central bankers from the Group of Seven economic powers discussed ways to revive the faltering global recovery on Thursday as the United States leant on Europe to reach a deal to avert a Greek bankruptcy. The threat of a Greek default, rising oil prices and bond market volatility are fuelling investor nervousness about the world's economy.
Tax increases, spending cuts and a stronger economy nearly sliced the United States budget deficit in half in fiscal 2013, reducing it to the lowest level since 2008, Treasury Department data showed. The federal government took in 75.1 billion more than it spent last month, leaving the deficit for the fiscal year, which runs from October to September, at 680 billion, down from 1.09 trillion in 2012.
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who was mocked for his loopy signature, has offered a more legible version. His new sign-off, on a recent Treasury report, showed an attempt to lay out the letters more clearly.
Jack Lew won the Senate Finance Committee’s approval to become US Treasury secretary and a full vote in the upper house confirmed Chuck Hagel as the next US defense secretary. The Senate approved the nomination Tuesday in a vote of 58 to 41.
US President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated his chief of staff, Jack Lew, as the next Treasury secretary, praising him as a expert on the pressing national issues of spending cuts and deficit reduction.
US President Barack Obama sharply cut estimates for US economic growth, underscoring the difficult challenge he faces in spurring a stronger recovery and creating more jobs.