Adding to confidence in the dollar, the U.S. fiscal deficit is plunging and exports are growing fast.

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It points out that confidence in Scottish finances will require clear fiscal rules on constraining deficit and debt.

BBC: Scottish independence: not whether, but how?

That makes the economy more exposed to external shocks, such as swings in confidence among the foreign investors who fund the bulk of the deficit.

CNN: Waiting for a Cooldown

With little to show from reductions beyond higher unemployment, less confidence and in the case of energy, a still higher deficit, Soria and his party may soon be forced to offer a different path forward.

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So, you might say that the largest obstacle in the way of Mr Osborne announcing an even slower deficit reduction plan next week isn't the financial market, but the chancellor's lack of confidence in his own side.

BBC: Budget 2013: The domino theory of deficit reduction