March 21 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled a demand for greater budget discipline was the price for her supporting European Union aid to Greece, denouncing what she called “superficial” solidarity and seeking to quell speculation of a split with her finance minister on the issue.

Merkel said she's made no decision on whether to back EU aid or to seek International Monetary Fund assistance to help Greece contain Europe's biggest budget deficit. A government spokesman confirmed her statement, which was reported by Deutsche Presse Agentur, citing an interview to be broadcast today by Deutschlandfunk.

Washington (CNN) -- A long-awaited compromise health care bill drafted by top Democrats will cost $940 billion over the next 10 years, according to a preliminary analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The bill cuts the deficit by $138 billion during that period of time, the Budget Office report said. It would further reduce the deficit by an additional $1.2 trillion in the following decade, two House Democratic sources told CNN.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday a report on his proposed legislation to overhaul the healthcare system showed it would reduce the nation's budget deficit over the long term.

"This morning a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office confirms that the reform we seek would bring $1.3 trillion dollars in deficit reduction over the next two decades," Obama said at a ceremony to sign separate legislation aimed at job creation.

Wharton is warning markets to keep a very close on Spain right now. That's because while a Greece or Portugal financial meltdown might be manageable, a Spanish one could have massive negative repercussions for both Europe and the global economy.

This is due to the massive size of both Spain's economy and debt:

If Spain fails to execute a credible plan to cut its budget deficit, the worries over sovereign solvency will spread quickly beyond the small, peripheral countries currently making the most headlines, experts warn. A Spanish default could herald the breakup of the euro and a rise in retaliatory protectionism around the world.

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. jobless claims unexpectedly fell in February at the fastest pace since 1997, suggesting the economic recovery is strengthening as Britons prepare for a general election within weeks.

The figures are a boost for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is seeking to persuade voters his Labour Party has the best strategy to cement the economic recovery. The Conservatives' pledge to cut the record budget deficit faster than Brown is planning has cost the party support, raising the specter of a minority government after the election due by June.

Britian really is showing its independence from the Eurocrats today.

First, the Brits killed hedge fund regulation.

And now they are telling the European Commission to drop plans to recommend that Britain move to reduce its growing budget deficit.

The message - Britain is not Greece and won't put its economic recovery in danger just to satisfy Eurocrats.

BRUSSELS (AP) - Britain's Treasury chief Alistair Darling says that stronger deficit cuts than those already planned could stifle the economic recovery and be unwise.

The Greek government won key backing from the Standard & Poor's credit rating agency for its efforts to dig out of a debt crisis that has shaken up the entire eurozone.

Standard & Poor's said Tuesday it was taking Greece off so-called credit watch. That means the agency is not thinking about downgrading the country's credit rating for now -- to the relief of the Greek government as it tries to plug its deficit by tapping the international bond markets for cash.

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- German 10-year bond yields stayed within 6 basis points of the highest in about three weeks amid speculation that European nations will offer Greece a safety net should the government fail to cut its budget deficit.

Greek securities advanced after officials from the 16 nations using the euro worked out a strategy for emergency loans in case Greece's plan for 4.8 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in tax increases and wage cuts doesn't stave off fiscal disaster. A report today will probably show German investor confidence fell for a sixth month in March. Ireland is scheduled to sell debt due in 2016 and 2020.

Christie, a Republican, faces an estimated budget deficit of about $11 billion on a proposed budget of around $29.3 billion.

His proposal reportedly will call for deferring property-tax rebates that normally would be delivered later this year until 2011 and changing them to tax credits. To Democrats, that is not a delayed payment, but a missed one.

"If you're a family who received a rebate in 2009, in 2010, you will receive neither a rebate nor a credit," said Assembly Budget Chairman Louis D. Greenwald (D., Camden). "That will be a dramatic property-tax increase for families, young families, middle-class families, and seniors."

CHICAGO-Gov. Pat Quinn refused to say Monday whether he has a plan to avoid deep cuts in education if lawmakers resist his call to raise the state income tax.

Quinn continued to insist he was optimistic that lawmakers would do what he has asked, although key legislators have shown little interest in passing a tax increase in an election year.

"I expect the Legislature to square up and vote on the matter. They have to explain to the folks that they represent that they're voting against education if they won't provide the funding," Quinn told reporters while visiting a southwest side school.

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- European Union finance ministers will discuss next week whether any Greek bailout should be funded by EU bonds guaranteed by euro region governments, said three people briefed on preparations for March 15-16 meetings.

Another option would be for governments in the 16-nation bloc to give Greece loans to help the country finance its budget deficit, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Any EU bond sale would have to be agreed upon by all 27 EU nations, they said. Euro region ministers meet in Brussels on March 15 and will be joined by the rest of the EU the next day.

ATHENS-Flights were grounded and trains suspended amid a nationwide general strike Thursday, as Greek police fought running street battles with anarchist youths in fresh and violent signs of anger at the government's austerity plans.

Unions called a strike to protest wage and benefit cuts being put in place to trim Greece's swollen budget deficit as the country draws closer to a financial reckoning. An estimated 50,000 people took to the streets.

ALBANY - Take that Mayor Bloomberg!

Gov. Paterson pushed back at Mayor Bloomberg Thursday morning for criticizing Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch's budget-reform proposal, saying mayor already has some of the powers that Ravitch would give the governor.

"The mayor has some of the authority himself that we're trying to get in the legislation here and when the mayor doesn't get what he wants, he complains about the governor," Paterson said on WOR's "The John Gambling Show."

WASHINGTON - The government ran up the largest monthly deficit in history in February, keeping the flood of red ink on track to top last year's record for the full year.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the February deficit totaled $220.9 billion, 14 percent higher than the previous record set in February of last year.

The deficit through the first five months of this budget year totals $651.6 billion, 10.5 percent higher than a year ago.

The US deficit in 2008 stood at $459bn

The US government recorded a budget deficit of $221bn (£147.6bn) in February - the largest monthly deficit in its history.

The total deficit since the beginning of the fiscal year in October now stands at $651.6bn, the figures from the US treasury show.

That puts it on track to beat last year's record annual budget deficit of $1.4tn.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called the deficit "unsustainable".

. the government in february alone ran its largest ever monthly deficit-$221 billion, the u.s. treasury said in releasing its monthly budget statement wednesday. the government in february 2009 ran a budget deficit of nearly $194 billion.

WASHINGTON-The Senate voted Wednesday to extend a host of soon-to-expire elements of last year's economic stimulus measure, including help for the jobless and money to help financially strapped states pay for health care for the poor.

The 62-36 vote came over protests from conservatives who say the bill adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt. Six Republicans joined all but one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, in voting for the bill.

Legislation blending help for the jobless with popular tax breaks for businesses and individuals is slated to pass the Senate Wednesday over protests from conservatives who say it adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt.

But compassion for the jobless and the political power of an annual package of tax breaks is likely to produce a bipartisan vote to pass the measure, even though it would add more than $130 billion to the budget deficit over the next year and a half.

Portugal's Socialist government on Monday announced sweeping austerity measures including a four-year public sector wage freeze, military spending cuts and tax increases to control a spiralling budget deficit.

Lisbon's growth and stability programme follows similar packages in eurozone countries struggling with soaring debt but is seen as more moderate than radical measures introduced by Greece, Ireland and Spain.

(Adds finance minister's comments and market reaction in fourth and fifth paragraphs.)

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Portugal's government plans to sell 6 billion euros ($8.2 billion) of assets that may include stakes in utility EDP-Energias de Portugal SA and oil company Galp Energia SGPS SA in a bid to convince investors it can trim its budget deficit and reduce debt.

The government will also raise civil servants' wages less than inflation through 2013, delay part of a high-speed rail project and increase taxes on those earning more than 150,000 euros a year, Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said at a press conference in Lisbon today.