U.S. budget deficit soars as tax receipts plunge to 14-year low

The telling stat in the U.S. Treasury Department's February budget report? U.S. government tax receipts, which plummeted 17 percent to a 14-year low of $87.3 billion.

Outlays were flat at $280.1 billion, which created a $192.8 billion budget deficit in February. The February total is the second largest monthly deficit in the nation's history. The record for one month? Negative $237.2 billion in October 2008, when the bank bailout was passed. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected the February budget deficit to total $205.7 billion.