US Budget Deficit Grows in October As Geithner Speaks of Strong Dollar

Talk is cheap (free) so of course that's what a budget-conscious Treasury Secretary would do: Talk.

Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary, says the strong dollar is very important for the U.S., as he spoke in Tokyo before heading for Singapore for the APEC summit. (Unlike Chinese, Japanese apparently were too polite to laugh at him.)

Strong dollar 'very important' for US: Geithner (11/11/09 AFP via Google)

It seems Geithner opens his mouth to say this same thing every 3 months or so. However, as the U.S. dollar index chart since March shows, it's been just a talk, as actual intervention would cost money. He also talked about the administration's intention to reduce deficit in a separate interview with CNBC (near the bottom of this article).

In the meantime, his Treasury Department released the October report on receipts and cash outlays, which shows the monthly budget deficit increased again from September level. It is actually a record October high at $176.4 billion. His Department also auctioned off $81 billion worth of Treasury notes and bonds this week alone.

Talk is really cheap.

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