US budget deficit falls to 8-year low in 2015

The US government's budget deficit fell to an eight-year low in fiscal 2015, dropping to $439 billion, the Treasury Department announced Thursday. The cut in the finance gap -- which was $1.4 trillion in 2009 -- brought the deficit down to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, the lowest level since 2007. The achievement marked a long effort by the administration of President Barack Obama to pare back the budget shortfall after it soared when the economy plunged into crisis in 2008.