Harry Pozycki, the head of Common Cause New Jersey, said the spending had shown that New Jersey's campaign finance laws, once considered a national model, had become ineffective.

The Lazio campaign contended that the spending showed that Democrats in Washington believed that they must prop up Mrs. Clinton.

Personal income and spending showed gains that were lower than expected, and a manufacturing report was stronger than expected.

Personal spending showed a rare decline in the revised figures for the last three months of the year.

Personal spending showed a steep decline in June as Japanese consumers set aside a larger share of their income in anticipation of tougher economic times.

Recent surveys on Christmas and New Year spending show the financial crisis has had little effect on Russians' budgets this year.

Public spending during the last 10 years of the Labour hardly show the government was spending like no tomorrow and in fact barely surpassed the spending of the Major years.

"I think Minister Aso made his comments based on a view that securing transparency at a time when its military spending has shown double-digit increases in recent years would lead to trust among foreign countries toward China," Mr. Abe said.

Real public spending since 1979 will have shown an average growth rate of 1.4% per annum compared with an annual rate of 1% under the previous Labour administration.