India’s increased spending will inflate budget deficit to 6.8 percent of GDP, worrying markets

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US federal budget deficit tripled to about $1.4 trillion for fiscal year 2009 in the midst of the worst economic decline since the Great Depression, the office that keeps track of spending for Congress said Wednesday. The figure represented about 9.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest percentage since 1945, the Congressional Budget Office said in a statement.

August 25th, 2009 Congress projects smaller deficit than White HouseWASHINGTON — Congressional budget analysts project a cumulative $7 trillion deficit from 2010-2019, a figure roughly $2 trillion less than the one projected by the White House budget office. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in a report that came out on the same day as the White House midyear budget review, said the deficit this year will total $1.6 trillion and that putting the nation on a sustainable fiscal course will require a mix of lower spending and higher tax revenues than the amounts now projected.

August 23rd, 2009 McCain refuses to consider taxes to reduce deficitWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain is refusing to consider raising taxes to reduce the ballooning deficit.

July 30th, 2009 Russia to run 7.5 pct deficit in 2010MOSCOW — Russia will next year run a budget deficit equivalent to 7.5 percent of annual economic output, the highest deficit the country can afford without hurting economic stability, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday. Russia is facing its biggest economic test in a decade and is this year running a budget deficit of 9.4 percent of gross domestic product — its first deficit in a decade.

July 30th, 2009 Russia to run 7.5 pct budget deficit next yearMOSCOW — Russia will next year run a budget deficit equivalent to 7.5 percent of annual economic output, the highest deficit the country can afford, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday. Russia is facing its biggest economic test in a decade and is this year running a budget deficit of 9.4 percent of gross domestic product — its first deficit in a decade.

July 7th, 2009 BANGALORE - Chairman and chief mentor of the Infosys Technologies Ltd NR Narayana Murthy has said the General Budget will bring the economy back on rails. Addressing reporters here on Monday, Murthy expressed confidence that the budget was pro-growth.

July 6th, 2009 India sees bigger budget deficit, worrying marketsMUMBAI, India — Aiming to revive economic growth, India's government said Monday increased spending in its new budget would inflate the fiscal deficit to 6.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Stocks plunged on concerns about a ballooning budget deficit and disappointment that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stopped short of announcing any new liberalization measures.

June 24th, 2009 EU tells Hungary to curb budget gap by 2011BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Wednesday gave Hungary another two years to curb its budget gap, postponing its deadline until 2011 as it deals with a severe recession. European Union finance ministers have told Hungary repeatedly to reduce its deficit because it has gone over the maximum 3 percent of gross domestic product set by EU budget rules every year since it joined the bloc in 2004.

June 10th, 2009 Budget deficit hits record for May of $189.7BWASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit soared to a record for May of $189.7 billion, pushing the tide of red ink close to $1 trillion with four months left in the budget year. The rising deficit reflects increased government spending due to the recession, and billions of dollars spent on bailouts for banks and other troubled companies.

May 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Growing budgetary deficit and weaknesses in its public finances could weaken India's sovereign creditworthiness, said global ratings agency Fitch in a statement Thursday. Noting that its slowing economy was met with two supplementary budgets in 2008-09, Fitch said this not only contributed to lower tax receipts but also led to a 'dramatic increase' in consolidated government deficit that last fiscal jumped to over 10 percent of India's domestic output or GDP, from around 6 percent the previous year.

February 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's large fiscal deficit could pose problems for the banking sector, said economic analysis provider Moody's Economy.com Tuesday. 'A large fiscal deficit could pose problems for the banking sector, with a wide funding gap forcing the government to issue large amounts of debt, pushing up India's risk-free interest rate and depressing the price of government bonds, large volumes of which are held by banks,' according to Nikhilesh Bhattacharyya, associate economist at Moody's Economy.com.

February 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India’s consolidated fiscal deficit may increase to 10.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this fiscal and 10 percent the next year, according to an estimate by global investment bank Goldman Sachs. 'We do not think that the deficit will come down substantially over the next few years,' Tushar Poddar, economist with Goldman Sachs, said in a statement.

February 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India’s consolidated fiscal deficit may increase to 10.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this fiscal and 10 percent the next year, according to an estimate by global investment bank Goldman Sachs. 'We do not think that the deficit will come down substantially over the next few years,' Tushar Poddar, economist with Goldman Sachs, said in a statement.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With no changes in tax rates but higher spending toward social sector projects, Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee Monday tabled a Rs.952,231 crore (Rs.9.52 trillion/$190.6 billion) interim budget for 2009-10 that chose to give fiscal prudence a miss during 'extraordinary economic circumstances'. Presenting the interim budget on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is recovering from heart bypass surgery, Mukherjee devoted large parts of his 69-minute speech to the achievements of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and said additional steps needed to be considered in the regular budget to be presented by the next government, after the ensuing general elections in a month or two.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim budget presented by Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha Monday: * In past three years, India grew by average of over 9 percent * Per capita income expanded by 4.7 percent per annum * Fiscal deficit was brought down from 4.5 percent to 2.7 percent * Revenue deficit was cut from 3.6 percent to 1.1 percent * Exports increased 26.4 percent per annum * Foreign trade increased from 27.3 percent to 35.5 percent * Tax to gross domestic product ratio expanded by 9.2 to 12.5 percent * Agriculture grew by 3.7 percent per annum