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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-posts-53-billion-surplus-in-december-2014-01-13?link=MW_pulse
U.S. posts $53 billion surplus in December
Fannie, Freddie payments help largest December surplus on record
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By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. government recorded a record budget surplus of $53 billion in December, the Treasury Department reported Monday, helping to bring the government’s deficit down 41% in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.
Nearly $40 billion in payments from government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributed to the surplus, the largest on record for the month of December. Tax receipts were also up 5% in the month.
The deficit for October, November and December was $174 billion, $120 billion below the year-ago period, reflecting continued improvement in the economy, increased tax revenue and lower spending.
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For the first quarter of the year, revenue including individual and corporate taxes rose 8%, to $665 billion.
Spending fell 8% in the same period, reflecting lower outlays on agriculture, defense and other programs.
The last time there was a December surplus was in 2007, of $48 billion.
The federal government’s finances have been steadily improving. In fiscal 2013, which ended Sept. 30, the budget gap dropped to $680 billion, its lowest level in five years. Thanks to record revenues and modestly lower spending, it was the first gap of below $1 trillion of Barack Obama’s presidency.
Washington’s budget wars have cooled down somewhat since House and Senate negotiators reached a deal in December to set spending levels for the next two years.
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However, as of Monday, lawmakers were still racing a Wednesday deadline to finish a massive spending bill for fiscal 2014. Congress is expected to approve a three-day stopgap funding measure to avoid a government shutdown and give lawmakers time to put the finishing touches on the so-called omnibus spending bill.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration and Congress are staring down another looming date: the U.S. debt ceiling is suspended through Feb. 7. The Treasury says that so-called emergency borrowing measures will last only about a month after that, and is urging Congress to raise the debt limit without delay. Republicans have said they will demand concessions for lifting the borrowing limit, but the White House insists it won’t negotiate.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23280737
The US government reported a budget surplus of $116.5bn (£77.02bn) in June, the most in five years.
The improving US economy meant that tax receipts were higher than expected.
Also, government spending plunged by 47% due to package of spending cuts and tax increases passed in January, know as the sequester.
Government owned mortgage firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, added $66.3bn (£43.8bn) in payments. They have been in public ownership since 2008.
Despite that strong month, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts the annual deficit will be $670bn (£443bn) when the budget year ends on Sept. 30.
The US government is once again expected to hit its debt ceiling - the point at which it must borrow more money to pay for ongoing obligations - in the autumn.
The Obama administration must get Congressional approval to raise the limit, which has often proved to be a pivotal point for negotiating future spending deals.
In 2011, the federal government almost shut down as a result of the negotiations and rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the US's credit rating from AAA to AA+.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/12/us-budget-surplus-idUSBRE91B1E520130212
U.S. posts $3 billion budget surplus for January
WASHINGTON Tue Feb 12, 2013 2:44pm EST
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(Reuters) - The budget posted a surprise surplus in January for the first time in five years, as the Treasury likely benefited from a windfall when payroll tax cuts expired.
The budget registered a $3 billion surplus, the first time there had been a surplus in January since 2008, Treasury Department data showed on Tuesday. Economists had been looking for a $2 billion gap. The surplus compared with a $27 billion deficit in January 2012.
It appeared the Treasury got a boost from the expiration of a payroll tax reduction on January 1 following the last-minute "fiscal cliff" deal. In its estimate last week, the Congressional Budget Office said the Treasury got an extra $9 billion in taxes from the expiry.
The January surplus means the government's cumulative deficit for the fiscal year, which starts in October, is $290 billion, 17 percent lower than the comparable first four months of fiscal 2012.
During fiscal 2012 which ended September 30, the budget deficit totaled $1.089 trillion.
Growth in receipts outpaced rising spending, narrowing the deficit. Receipts grew to $272 billion from $234 billion in the same month last year while outlays rose to $269 billion in January of this year from $262 billion in January 2012. So far in the first four months of fiscal 2013, receipts are $98 billion higher compared to the same period a year ago.
The extra fiscal space should leave the Treasury with plenty of room to stave off default after a debt-limit extension expires on May 19.
Congress on January 31 passed a measure that allows Treasury to borrow sufficiently to meet federal obligations until May 19, at which time another increase in the federal debt limit will be needed.
But even if no increase is granted, Treasury will be able to stave off a final day of reckoning until late July or early August by redeploying emergency cash management measures which allow it to claw back about $220 billion worth of borrowing capacity.
(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Andrea Ricci and James Dalgleish)
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