Federal Contracts Plunge, Squeezing Private Sector, Jeopardizing Recovery

"After spiraling higher for much of the last decade, the value of federal contracts awarded to companies is falling rapidly. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the total fell by $58 billion, or roughly 11 percent. It was the steepest decline -- in percentage and nominal terms -- in at least a decade, according to an analysis of federal contract data by The New York Times...For the 2013 fiscal year, the total was $460 billion."Danielle Ivory in The New York Times.