EmailFor the first time since 2007 – before the recession – the US Treasury is planning to make a down payment on the federal debt. The budget deficit has been shrinking more than expected. Thanks to government spending cuts, and higher tax receipts The Treasury says it expects to pay off $35 billion of debt in the second quarter. That compares to an earlier forecast that it would have to borrow $103 billion. Usually this time of year is the best for government cash flow because annual tax returns flood into the Treasury in April. But the return to at least one quarter of debt paydown is a clear sign government spending cuts and tax increases have helped lower the deficit.
Twinkies and Ho Ho’s are on their way back. The new Hostess Brands says it will open bakeries in Indiana and Illinois, following announcements last week that it will reopen bakeries in Georgia and Kansas in its effort to bring back the popular snack brands. Private equity groups Apollo Global Management and Metropolis & Co. – now doing business as Hostess Brands – paid $410 million to buy the Hostess and Dolly Madison snack cake lines from the previous owners of Hostess Brands. The investment firms are now trying to revive operations to get Twinkies, Ho Ho’s and other popular snack cakes back on shelves by the end of July.
A Las Vegas-based social gambling company says it will launch the first legal, real-money poker website in the United States. Ultimate Gaming will only accept wagers from players in Nevada for now, but the site may represent the shape of things to come for gamblers across the country. Internet poker has been banned in the United States since 2011. More recently, the federal government softened its stance on Internet betting and three states — New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada– have legalized some form of online wagering. With today’s launch, Nevada wins the race to bring Texas Hold ‘em back to the Internet.
Despite repeated claims by many skeptics, the stock market continues to climb higher. The S&P 500 – the market’s broadest gauge of big stock performance – is now at an all- time high of 1593. The Dow Jones index gained 106 points yesterday. Two tech stocks Microsoft and IBM were among the best performers, rising more than 2 percent each.
Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc
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the national debt is almost 17 trillion so 35 billion is like owing someone 17 dollars then giving them .02 cents as payment…..not really anything the get excited about…just a headline to get a reaction from people…oh wow we are on the right track…..yeah borrow…spend…..that’s just interest on interest…get rid of federal reserve and see how the debt gets corrected
Posted by: simple | April 30, 2013, 9:15 am 9:15 am
what a crcok, how much are theyh going to pay down ? A penney? This is just for show like everything else in this incompetent Administration
Posted by: joy | April 30, 2013, 9:35 am 9:35 am
This year’s Obama deficit will top $1 TRILLION, yet again. This drop in the bucket is not reducing our debt. Think then react.
Posted by: electpatriots | April 30, 2013, 9:42 am 9:42 am
Since it was not posted the first time which further inforces my point below! What Lapdogs!!!
Welcome to the world of media propaganda and brainwashing, a world where the media is taking sides. This is not why the media was given the freedoms it was given, the media was supposed to be the watch dogs of government and keep them honest. But instead we get this one sided propaganda, anybody with an once a sense can see this is a joke and by no way worth the headline it got, it is nothing more than media biased. I’d be impressed if ABC called out the US Treasury for making this foolish statement. The only good thing in the article is that a reduction in federal spending is helping but it’s still a drop in the bucket and mere propaganda!
Posted by: Censored_by_ABC | April 30, 2013, 10:07 am 10:07 am
And yet Mr. Spend Our Future is on TV at this moment blasting any and everyone who “caused’ the sequester. Sorry folks, you can’t have it both ways. Either we reduce spending in order to pay down the debt (now more than $16 trillion), or we go back to spending and let our grandchildren be enslaved for the misdeeds of Washington.
Posted by: wantingbalance | April 30, 2013, 11:13 am 11:13 am
Ahh more whining conservatives , i.e. another great day ! Go Team Obama !
Posted by: davem | April 30, 2013, 11:18 am 11:18 am
Most of the debt in this country was caused by the “Compassionate Conservatives”.
Posted by: TRUTH | April 30, 2013, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
35 billion? Won’t that destroy the economy. After all, didn’t a 44 billion sequester for this yearsdo that? What a scam.
Posted by: Bill | April 30, 2013, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
Conservatives whine about the size of the Debt. And they whine when the government pays down the debt, if only a little. Is there anything – ANYTHING – these cretins won’t whine about?
Posted by: Phoenix Risen | April 30, 2013, 7:30 pm 7:30 pm