Government finances to miss Budget forecasts - papers 21st Sept

BRITAIN HAD a budget deficit of £4.76bn in August, against £6.6bn in the same month last year, the lowest shortfall for the month in three years as tax income rose at twice the pace of spending, reports the Scotsman. However, analysts warned yesterday the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, was still on course to miss his borrowing forecast for the year, especially as the economy was showing signs of weaker growth in recent months. "In the last two months, the trend has improved and the public finances are moving back in the right direction,'' said Geoffrey Dicks, chief UK economist at Royal Ban...