Spain says deficit down by half through July

Spain says its public deficit is down sharply through the end of July thanks to a combination of tax hikes and other austerity measures.

That's good news for a government fighting to shake off recession and ward off fears it might need a massive international bailout like the one that saved Greece from bankruptcy in May.

The Finance Ministry said in a report issued Tuesday that through the end of July, the central government's deficit totaled 2.4 percent of GDP, half of what it was for the same period of 2009.

The figures do not include spending by regional governments, however, which will be key to helping the government meet its stated goal of cutting the deficit from 11.2 percent of GDP last year to 3 percent in 2013.