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For the first time since President Bush took office, an unexpected leap in tax revenue is about to shrink the federal budget deficit this year, by nearly $100 billion. On Wednesday, White House officials plan to announce that the deficit for the 2005 fiscal year, which ends in September, will be far smaller than the $427 billion they estimated in February. Mr. Bush plans to hail the improvement at a cabinet meeting and to cite it as validation of his argument that tax cuts would stimulate the economy and ultimately help pay for themselves. Based on revenue and spending data...

So much for record budget deficits. The tide of economic growth and surging corporate and individual tax revenues are now expected to erase as much as 25% of the red ink the government was planning to expend this year. Three-quarters of the way through fiscal 2005, the Congressional Budget Office says the deficit will come in well shy of $350 billion and may fall below $325 billion. The White House, which had forecast a record $427 deficit, will update its view Wednesday. Some see the better-than-expected federal revenues as evidence that President Bush's tax policy is working as advertised. "This...

<p>The number of millionaires in the U.S. increased to a record last year, boosted by gains in stocks and global financial markets, according to two new studies.</p> <p>The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more rose 21% in 2004, according to a survey released yesterday by Spectrem Group, a wealth-research firm in Chicago. It is the largest increase since 1998, according to the study, which was based on data from more than 450 qualified respondents. There now are 7.5 million millionaire households in the U.S., breaking the record set in 1999 of 7.1 million. The study excluded the value of primary residences, but included second homes and other real estate.</p>

The number of millionaires in the U.S. increased to a record last year, boosted by gains in stocks and global financial markets, according to two new studies. The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more rose 21% in 2004, according to a survey released yesterday by Spectrem Group, a wealth-research firm in Chicago. It is the largest increase since 1998, according to the study, which was based on data from more than 450 qualified respondents. There now are 7.5 million millionaire households in the U.S., breaking the record set in 1999 of 7.1 million....

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers created a surprisingly large 274,000 new jobs in April and added more workers in each of the two prior months than first thought, the Labor Department (search) said Friday in a report that eased fears about economic growth. The April jobs total far outstripped Wall Street economists' expectations for 170,000 new jobs. Further underlining the surge, the government said 93,000 more jobs were created in February and March than it previously reported — 146,000 in March instead of 110,000 and a whopping 300,000 in February instead of 243,000. The unemployment rate, however, which is calculated from...

NEW YORK - For the first time since weathering their worst fiscal crisis in more than 60 years, most states are again filling their coffers with enough money to pay their bills. In 2003, more than 40 states had to bridge yawning budget deficits. This year, only three of them expect their revenues to fall short. As the economy has recovered, increases in revenues from personal income taxes - which make up more than a third of all state tax collections - have helped improve the financial positions of states. In 2004, state authorities estimate that revenues from personal income...

Fortune 500 companies that invested millions of dollars in electing Republicans are emerging as the earliest beneficiaries of a government controlled by President Bush and the largest GOP House and Senate majority in a half century.

Pace of US economic growth bolstered by stronger exports WASHINGTON (AFP) - Although the pace of US economic growth slowed during the last quarter of 2004, it motored along at a far faster clip than previously thought, according to a fresh government estimate. The Commerce Department said the economy grew at a slightly better than expected annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, as it issued its first revision to an initial estimate that the economy had expanded at a 3.1 percent rate. The re-reading of the country's economic health was marginally better than some Wall...

The US economy expanded by 3.8 per cent in the final three months of last year, faster than previously expected due to a lighter drag from the trade deficit coupled with faster business spending. For the year as a whole the economy grew at 4.4 per cent, the fastest pace since 1999. The previous estimate for the quarter was 3.1 per cent, which came as a disappointment to economists most of whom had expected a figure closer to 4 per cent annualised. The figure supports the assertion by the Federal Reserve that the economy has continued to expand at a...

The economy grew at a solid 3.8 percent annual rate in the final quarter of 2004 -- stronger than previously estimated-- an encouraging sign that the business expansion was firmly entrenched at the start of the new year.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy grew at a solid 3.8 percent annual rate in the final quarter of 2004 - stronger than previously estimated- and an encouraging sign that the business expansion was firmly entrenched at the start of the new year. The new reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department Friday, was better than the government's initial calculation made a month ago. That estimate showed the economy growing at a 3.1 percent pace. The improvement reflected more robust spending by businesses on capital equipment and to build up inventories of goods. The trade deficit also was...

As the President suggested, the federal tax system has become a serious drag on the U.S. economy -- riddled with complexities, punishing success, and discouraging productive economic activity. The complexities of the tax code reflect its gradual transformation from its initial function as simply a means of raising revenue into its current role as the government's principal tool for molding behavior and dispensing favors. The disincentives embodied in the tax code serve to discourage individuals and businesses from saving, investing, working harder, and taking risks.....

WASHINGTON - Sales of new U.S. homes rose a smaller-than-expected 0.1 percent in December to close out the strongest year on record, a government report showed on Monday.

The economy finished 2004 with its best performance in five years despite slowing in the final stretch. The outlook ahead: a moderate jog, rather than a sprint. The broadest barometer of the country's economic standing, the gross domestic product, clocked a 4.4 percent increase for all of last year spurred by brisk consumer and business spending, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The latest snapshot of GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States, exceeded the 3 percent registered in 2003 and marked the strongest showing since the 4.5 percent gain of 1999. "When...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales jumped a more-than-expected 1.2 percent in December, the government said on Thursday, as car dealers, furniture stores and on-line retailers reported strong sales. Retail sales in all of 2004 jumped 8.0 percent, the biggest gain since 1999, the Commerce Department (news -web sites) said.

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The Labor Department announced Friday that U. S. employers added 157,000 workers to their payrolls in December making 2004 the strongest year for job creation since 1999. Figures for October and November were also revised upward, accounting for a total of 2.2 million new jobs created since January. Jobs gains averaged about 190,000 jobs per month during the year. Even though the unemployment rate held steady at 5.4 percent, that number is below the average of each of the past three decades. At 5.4 percent, the unemployment rate has declined significantly from 6.3 percent in June...

WASHINGTON - Employers hired workers in 2004 at the fastest pace in five years, with overall payrolls rising by 2.2 million. December's job growth was a bit lower than expected, with the unemployment rate holding at 5.4 percent. President Bush (news - web sites) called the numbers "very positive," but economists weren't quite so enthusiastic. One said the year went out "like a cow: beefy but docile." The Labor Department (news - web sites) reported Friday that employers expanded their payrolls by a net 157,000 in December, bringing the year's increase to the highest level since 1999. That year, 3.2...

As 2004 draws to a close, it is clear that the U.S. economy has turned in another strong performance. That is not only true in terms of its absolute rate of growth; it is especially true in terms of its growth rate relative to other advanced economies. The year-end numbers will not begin surfacing until next month, but it will almost certainly be true that the U.S. average growth rate during 2003 and 2004 will exceed 4 percent per year. Measured on a fourth-quarter-over-fourth-quarter basis, which best describes economic activity during a given year, the 2003 growth rate was 4.4...

Reuters U.S. Consumer Confidence Rebounds in Dec Tuesday December 28, 10:09 am ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence rebounded in December to a five-month high as consumers reacted positively to job growth and economic expansion. The index jumped to 102.3 from an upwardly revised 92.6 in November as consumers' satisfaction with both the current state of the economy and its prospects for next year improved, the private business group said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT The index easily surpassed economists' forecast for a December reading of 94.6. The Conference Board's Present Situation Index increased to 105.9 in December from 96.3...

New claims slid 12,000 to 323,000 in the week ended Nov. 20. Economists expected little change. The 4-week average, which smooths out weekly swings, slid 6,500 to 332,000, the lowest in four years. Continuing claims fell 25,000 to 2.755 mil in the week ended Nov. 13 to a 3 1/2-year low. The data signal companies may be less reluctant to hire. More