In the past four years their biggest deficits totaled seven games.

Wall Street economists had expected the deficit would total a worrisome $9.8 billion.

That deficit totals about $500 billion this year, a record in absolute terms and as a share of the nation's total economy.

For the first three months of this fiscal year, the deficit totaled $64.34 billion.

So far this year the deficit totals $2.9 billion, compared with $2.5 billion in the first four months of 1990.

But even without the $25 billion early payment, the deficit so far this fiscal year would still total $216.9 billion.

In the first 11 months of the year, the deficit totaled $661.8 billion, up 17.6 percent from the comparable period in 2004.

Block reported a deficit totaling 67 cents a share for its three quarters ended in January.

With only one month to go in the Government's fiscal year, the deficit totaled $165.3 billion through August.

The deficit in the first quarter totaled a seasonally adjusted $27.36 billion.