By fixing annual budget deficits, Europe is shooting itself in the foot: while it does, of course, authorize lower budget deficits during good years, it makes it impossible to allow further budgetary deficits when the economy is in recession. Europe is in recession.

The 2008-09 global economic crisis pushed public debt ratios of advanced economies to levels never seen before during peacetime. These high debt levels expose countries to a loss of market confidence and, ultimately, damage long-term growth prospects.

Let's face it. Everybody loves cheap energy. Almost all human activities require energy consumption and, if something is so basic, it seems pretty obv...

Suppose, just for entertainment purposes, that we wanted to have a sane, rational, and even informative discussion about what to do about our public deficits and debt -- one that doesn't automatically default to the "hair-on-fire, we're Greece!" that we too often get from the deficit reduction industry.

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its updated budget projections for 2013 through 2023. The new projections reflect all development...

For the U.S. economy, serious risks could come at the end of this year from two potential self-inflicted wounds: the so-called "fiscal cliff" and the debt ceiling.

The Latvian experience makes a strong political case for taking into account adjustment fatigue in Europe.

It might not be government debt itself that's a danger to the U.S. economy. That's because government debt does not necessarily lead to lower econ...

For the past six months, the world economy has been on what is best described as a roller coaster.

WASHINGTON -- The federal deficit was lower in the first quarter of the 2012 budget year than the same period last year. Yet, the imbalance remains hi...

For government workers and financial sector employees, last year was a particularly bad one -- and 2012 likely won't be much better. More jobs were...

Moody's on Friday cut Belgium's credit ratings by two notches, saying "fragile sentiment" in the euro zone may cause funding stress for countries ...

In the midst of jittery financial markets, and global economic doom and gloom, it's easy to become pessimistic. Perhaps too much so; amid what seems like a steady drum beat of bad news, one can lose sight of what has been achieved over the last couple of years.

The global economy has entered a dangerous new phase. The recovery has weakened considerably, and downside risks have increased sharply. Strong policies are urgently needed to improve the outlook and reduce risks.

Imagine you are minister of finance in an average developing country. Suddenly you learn that a new global crisis may be looming in the horizon.

(Rachelle Younglai) - Any effort by the United States to pare its massive public debt without bringing in more revenue and tackling expensive bene...

WASHINGTON (Glenn Somerville) - U.S. consumer credit rose by another $5.08 billion in May, according to a Federal Reserve report on Friday that su...

In about a month, if nothing is done, the federal government will hit its legal debt limit. There will be dire consequences if this limit isn’t rais...

While many countries are slogging through a tough fiscal time, there is some good news, including in the United States where the deficit will be lower this year than previously expected.