Economy

The federal deficit will dip below $1 trillion for the first time in five years, a substantial improvement in the fiscal outlook, but one that masks a persistent budget gap that will probably worsen later this decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The last two years of budget battles between the White House and congressional Republicans, coupled with the recovering economy, have slowed the government's gush of red ink. But steps to reduce the deficit have acted as a drag on the economy, slowing the recovery, the budget office said.

WASHINGTON - Cars and light-duty trucks for the 2012 model year exceeded new federal standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The 2012 fleet averages 23.6 miles per gallon, up from 22.4 for the previous model year - one of the greatest improvements in fuel economy in 30 years, according to a report released Friday. And the cars and trucks pump out an average of 286 grams of carbon dioxide per mile, nine grams less than the EPA standard.

The Fourth of July weekend seems like a good time to examine some of the heat and rhetoric lately surrounding one of the basic building blocks of our society: immigration. There is widespread concern that too many immigrants are coming in and, worse, that waves of unskilled workers will form a permanent underclass and change the historic dynamic of American society. These are serious matters. Immigration is part of the DNA of America, and it's as necessary today as ever.

Lyft, the ride-sharing service known for the pink furry mustache on its drivers' cars, is growing. The company expanded into 24 mid-size cities across the country Thursday. It's great news for the sharing economy. But should we really be celebrating a system that is, in effect, a Band-Aid solution for unemployment and those people struggling financially in post-recession America? I'm not necessarily opposed to the sharing economy, though I did have a frightening Uber experience with a speeding, texting driver, and personally I'd rather stay in a hotel over an Airbnb home rental, which kind of creeps me out. As Jeremy Rifkin recently wrote in our Op-Ed pages , it's a “winning economic model” that “will change the course of economic history.” Using Airbnb as an example, Rifkin attributed the success of sharing services to “near zero marginal cost,” a new phenomenon he says that allows companies to expand without much of a financial investment.

Worried by the worsening economy, Kristen Olson decided she'd better start saving money. She tallied her expenses and was walloped by sticker shock: She and her roommates were spending $900 a year for cable TV. "I'm not watching $900 worth of cable," said the 25-year-old advertising account coordinator, who lives in North Hollywood. She's trying to persuade her roommates to drop the service.

Mr. President, I thought it was the economy, stupid! MARTIN OSTRYE Arcadia

California's immigrant-heavy economy looks strong through the lens of regional bank results, with two of Los Angeles' many Asian American banks near the top of analysts' national lists of bank stocks that investors should buy. According to financial information provider SNL Financial, BBCN Bancorp recently held the No. 2 slot, with six of seven analysts, or 87%, rating Koreatown's largest bank a "buy" or "outperform," meaning it would do better than...

Russia's economy has been hit hard by the Ukraine crisis, prompting finance officials to cut growth forecasts for this year to near zero and draining the country's hard currency reserves as investors flee an uncertain market, Kremlin officials disclosed Wednesday. In an address to the lower house of parliament, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said $63 billion had been converted from rubles to hard currencies and taken out of the country in the first quarter of this year.

Americans rushed out to shop as frigid weather lifted in March, propelling retail sales at the fastest pace in a year and a half. The gauge from the Commerce Department surged 1.1% last month from February in its biggest leap since September 2012. Sales boomed 3.8% from March 2013. The strong sales, which beat economists' expectations for a 1% increase, bolstered hopes that the economy would continue to gain momentum after struggling through an especially harsh winter. "One month doesn't answer all the questions, and it's not like we have all-over-the-place exploding growth," said NPD Group analyst Marshal Cohen.

Re "A sharing economy," Opinion, April 6 Before I read Jaron Lanier's revelatory book, "Who Owns the Future?," I might have blithely accepted the capitalistic efficiency of the sharing economy as described by Jeremy Rifkin. But consider the case of my cab driver: His professional, safe, reliable and fully insured service is getting killed by under-regulated siphons such as Lyft. Airbnb promises to do the same to hotels by exploiting unfair advantages. Who knows which industry will be next?

Airbnb is all the talk on Wall Street. Its thirtysomething founders were nearly broke six years ago. Now it seems likely they will soon become billionaires. Their company, which connects 600,000 apartment dwellers and homeowners in 160 countries with millions of people seeking cheap lodging online, is closing a new round of private funding, and it is expected to be valued at $10 billion or more by the end of April. In one night alone during 2013, Airbnb boasted 250,000 guests staying in its members' apartments and houses.

A field of candidates - many political heavyweights and city insiders - are locked in an expensive battle to become Long Beach's newest mayor, a job that comes with expectations of reviving both the port city's economy and reputation. The April 8 election has candidates vying for city attorney and a majority of Long Beach's nine council seats, setting the stage for one of the most significant shake-ups in city politics in more than a decade. But all eyes are on the mayor's race, and with the crowded field a June runoff is likely.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - For decades, relations between Taiwan and its giant neighbor China have been one of the great success stories of the ending of the Cold War. Slowly but surely, the two nations have pulled back from half a century of bellicose confrontation and in recent years embraced a level of political and economic cooperation that seemed to promise new riches for both. But today, for many Taiwanese, the bloom is off the rose. This disenchantment lay behind the outbreak of angry protests from Taiwanese students that are in their third week.

Diesel-powered cars save on fuel, but many of them won't save you any money. That's because they cost thousands more to buy in the first place, compared with similar gas-powered models. And many automakers usually offer diesel engines only in combination with a pricey set of standard features. So it can take years - if ever - to make up for those upfront costs through savings at the pump. That's what makes the latest addition to Volkswagen's growing diesel fleet, the Jetta TDI Value Edition, so intriguing.