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• U.S. April surplus up, year-to-date deficit down -CBO Tuesday, 7 May 2013 | 8:03 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, May 7- April's U.S. budget surplus was bigger than a year ago and the federal government ran a much smaller deficit in the first seven months of the current fiscal year than the previous year, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.

• Puerto Rico business, local governments line up against proposed budget Monday, 6 May 2013 | 6:00 PM ET

  May 6- Puerto Rico business groups and some municipal governments are teaming up against a proposed $1 billion overhaul of a sales and use tax that is a key component of a budget proposal meant to cut a large deficit in the debt-ridden economy. Puerto Rico's debt is one of the riskier alternatives in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market.

• UPDATE 1-France to get more time to cut deficit as euro zone recession bites Friday, 3 May 2013 | 8:23 AM ET

  *Spain, Netherlands, France seen in recession in 2013. BRUSSELS, May 3- France will get two more years to meet its budget deficit target because of the country's poor economic outlook within a recession-hit euro zone, the European Commission said on Friday.

• UPDATE 1-Italy rejects calls to raise deficit targets Thursday, 2 May 2013 | 12:59 AM ET

  *OECD says Italy needs more fiscal tightening. ROME, May 2- Italy's economy minister on Thursday ruled out trying to renegotiate the country's budget targets, even as the OECD called for more budget austerity. Fabrizio Saccomanni told parliament a move to ease Italy's deficit targets- such as may happen with France and Spain- would be counter-productive.

• UPDATE 3-U.S. may reduce borrowing as budget gap shrinks Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 4:11 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, May 1- The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday it might be able to sell less long-term debt in the future if the U.S. budget deficit continues to come down.

• 'Quit Doing Things Like This Stupid Sequester: Bowles  Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 8:22 AM ET

  

  Erskine Bowles, former Debt Commission co-chair, discusses the roadblocks on Capitol Hill preventing a "grand bargain" on the budget.

• 'Grand Bargain is on Life Support': Bowles  Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 8:03 AM ET

  

  Erskine Bowles, former Debt Commission co-chair, discusses the "hard stuff" Congress needs to do to reach a bipartisan budget agreement; such as reforming the tax code and reducing spending in entitlement programs.

• Obama says too soon to declare demise of his domestic agenda Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013 | 5:01 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, April 30- With his fight for tighter gun control measures defeated and prospects for a deficit reduction pact dim, President Barack Obama sought on Tuesday to project an image of a leader still in control of a faltering domestic policy agenda.

• CNBC Fed Survey: How Much QE?  Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013 | 3:49 PM ET

  

  CNBC's Steve Liesman discusses what participants of the CNBC Fed Survey had to say about the how much QE from the Fed is enough.

• Dire Deficit Situation?  Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013 | 2:15 PM ET

  

  CNBC's Steve Liesman discusses what participants of the CNBC Fed Survey had to say about the deficit and how urgent it was.

• Deficit Fear & Loathing  Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013 | 2:15 PM ET

  

  CNBC's Steve Liesman shares the results of the CNBC Fed Survey, and discusses how the participants felt about the sequester.

• Puerto Rico hopes to close budget deficit in two to three years Friday, 26 Apr 2013 | 7:24 PM ET

  SAN JUAN, April 26- Puerto Rico would see its deficit decline substantially to $200 million under a proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year unveiled by the territory's governor, who said he expects to close the budget gap in two to three years.

• UPDATE 1-EU signals Spain to get more time to reduce deficit Friday, 26 Apr 2013 | 10:57 AM ET

  BRUSSELS, April 26- Spain's weak economy means Madrid will likely get another year to bring its budget deficit down to EU limits by 2016, the European Commission said on Friday. The Commission will take a formal decision on whether to give Spain more time to reduce its deficit on May 29, but it must still be signed off on by EU finance ministers.

• UPDATE 2-Spain admits recession worse but gets deficit leeway Friday, 26 Apr 2013 | 12:29 AM ET

  MADRID, April 26- Spain acknowledged that its economy would shrink more than initially expected in 2013 and its budget deficit would be higher than promised, but the European Union gave it more time to bring the shortfall back down to bloc limits.

• INTERVIEW-German SPD says EU can't ditch austerity Wednesday, 24 Apr 2013 | 10:54 AM ET

  BERLIN, April 24- Germany's opposition Social Democrats do not believe the time for debt and deficit reduction in Europe is over yet, but see a need to focus more on growth to combat unemployment in southern Europe, a top SPD politician told Reuters.

• UPDATE 2-UK budget deficit barely falls in 2012/13, more pain ahead Tuesday, 23 Apr 2013 | 2:22 PM ET

  *UK budget deficit edges down to 7.4 pct of GDP in 2012/ 13. *Fall is relief for UK government after difficult week. "There's a small crumb to be had from the fact that borrowing is less than last year, but really that's a political point not an economic one," said David Tinsley, UK economist at BNP Paribas.

• Are Spending Cuts Ruining Travel Plans?  Tuesday, 23 Apr 2013 | 11:57 AM ET

  

  Spending cuts related to the sequester are causing delays at airports across the country, reports CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis.

• Will ECB Bond-Buying Be Activated for Spain?   Tuesday, 23 Apr 2013 | 1:30 AM ET

  

  Jose Carlos Diez, chief economist at Intermoney, talks about Spain's deficit and what the ECB's OMT bond-buying program could do for the country's economy.

• EU Calls an End to the Era of Austerity Tuesday, 23 Apr 2013 | 1:03 AM ET

  

  Debt levels swelled across the euro zone, but the pressure may be easing as the European Commission signals an end to sharp spending cuts.

• UPDATE 3-Era of austerity has run its course, EU says Monday, 22 Apr 2013 | 4:07 PM ET

  *France, Spain miss EU goals but may get more time. BRUSSELS, April 22- France and Spain fell short of their budget deficit goals last year and debt levels swelled across the euro zone but the pressure may be easing on Paris and Madrid as the European Commission signals an end to sharp spending cuts.