Big deficit in Obama's first budget

Washington: US President Barack Obama is expected to unveil a budget to balance his short-term political imperative to boost jobs, while convincing investors he has a credible plan to curb record deficits over time.

The White House will predict a record budget deficit in the current fiscal year. In its budget proposal to be released today, the White House predicts a record $1.6 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year.

President Barack Obama will seek to strike a balance between reducing the deficit over the long term and stimulating the economy in the short term to ease the pain of double-digit unemployment.