US public debt soars toward $1.6trn

Measures by President Obama to help kick-start the American economy - including a $787bn stimulus package - plus a drop in tax revenues linked to the recession, have swelled the deficit from $455bn in 2008. White House projections forecast further rises in debt well into the next decade, estimating a cumulative total of $9trn between 2010 and 2019, though it maintains the US economy is on track to begin recovery this year. The latest figures are from the White House and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). "Overall, it underscores the dire fiscal situation that we in...