Colombia Approves Deficit-Cutting Law Fueled by Mining Boom

Colombia’s Congress approved legislation yesterday to allow the Andean nation to capitalize on a boom in oil and mining investment to reduce debt and build a stabilization fund to cushion the economy during downturns.

The Senate bill passed yesterday, which still must be reconciled with a version approved in May by the lower house, targets a central government budget deficit of no more than 2.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2014, down from a projected 4.1 this year. It also seeks to narrow the gap to no more than 1 percent by 2022.