deficit reduction

President Barack Obama on Monday sent Congress a new budget that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade while at the same time showering billions of dollars of increased spending on areas aimed at giving the economy a quick boost.

Two surprises in the finance biz: A small group of bond investors has thrown a wrench into Bank of America's massive mortgage securities settlement, while the Fed revealed a secret $15 billion loan it made to Goldman Sachs in 2008. But in retail, there are no bad surprises on same-store sales so far.

With proposals from both President Obama and GOP leaders to broaden the tax base, it seems likely that some cherished income tax deductions may be reduced or even eliminated, and one leading candidate for the chopping block is the deduction for mortgage interest.

Would the U.S. ever consider selling the Hoover Dam, all the gold in Fort Knox, or the naming rights to the Grand Canyon? That may depend on how desperate it is to balance the budget. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a nation has considered selling its national treasures. Our partner, 24/7 Wall St, examined nine U.S. assets whose auction could take a bite out of the deficit.

When some new members of Congress recently said they oppose raising the U.S. debt limit, it triggered warnings of "catastrophic consequences." Indeed, the result wouldn't be pretty. But here's what's at stake as the country's debt burden swells every year.

The new plan to reduce the national deficit, expected to be released Wednesday, includes many of the highly controversial proposals from the previous version, including increasing the Social Security age and reducing benefits from the program.

Introducing a value-added tax would cost the American economy 850,000 jobs in its first year, according to the National Retail Federation. Policymakers are considering a VAT as a possible way to reduce the federal deficit, which is currently at its highest as a share of GDP since World War II....

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is calling for the complete repeal of the Bush tax cuts, a position that goes further than that of the White House. President Obama advocates keeping tax rates steady for all but the richest Americans.