The Congressional Budget Office projected that the government would run a deficit of $506 billion for the budget year that ends Sept. 30. That would be the lowest level of Barack Obama's presidency. The CBO foresees a slight increase from its earlier $492 billion projection of this year's deficit but also modest improvement over the coming decade. Obama inherited a recession and a trillion-dollar-plus deficit picture when he took office in the aftermath of the 2008 fiscal crisis. The economy has recovered more slowly than hoped; some of the recent drop in the jobless rate is due to frustrated job-seekers leaving the labor market. The report also forecasts the U.S. economy will grow just 1.5 percent in 2014, considerably more pessimistic than the Obama administration's prediction last month that the economy would expand by 2.6 percent this year even though it contracted by an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the first quarter.
-- Associated Press