U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012.  REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov  (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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FACTBOX: Nitty gritty on the White House's new deficit forecast

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Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:22am EDT

(Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to trim its projection for the fiscal 2009 budget deficit next week to $1.58 trillion from $1.84 trillion, administration officials said.

Below are a few facts about the new number and why it is being revised:

* The main reason for drop in the projected deficit is the elimination of a $250 billion "placeholder" that had been set aside in previous budget forecasts for potential future bank rescues.

* Another $78 billion set aside for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to pay for bank failures also will be saved because fewer banks went under than first expected.

* U.S. officials said spending in the 2009 fiscal year would total $3.653 trillion and revenues would be $2.074 trillion.

* The $1.58 trillion deficit would account for 11.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product -- the highest deficit as a percentage of GDP since 1945.

* In May, the White House pushed up its budget deficit estimates for 2009 to $1.84 trillion -- representing 12.9 percent of GDP.

A White House forecast released in February projected a deficit of $1.75 trillion, or 12.3 percent of GDP.

The 2009 fiscal year ends on September 30.

(Compiled by Jeff Mason; Editing by Bill Trott)

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