Budget Deficit in U.S. Rose to $49.8 Billion
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The U.S. government posted a wider budget deficit in January as spending climbed from a year earlier when outlays were depressed by the New Year’s holiday.
The gap totaled $49.8 billion last month, lower than the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, compared with a $42.6 billion shortfall in January 2010, figures from the Treasury Department showed today in Washington. An 11 percent increase in spending exceeded a 10 percent gain in revenue that reflected growing income tax receipts as the economy improved.