NATION DEEPER IN HOLE.(Business)

Byline: Martin Crutsinger Associated Press

The government said Tuesday that the deficit in the broadest measure of U.S. trade sank to a five-year low last year, but the $105.9 billion imbalance still pushed the country deeper into the hole as the world's largest debtor nation.

America's current account balance narrowed by 16 percent over a $126.6 billion deficit in 1989, reflecting growth in exports, higher overseas earnings of American businesses and increased spending by visiting foreign tourists, according to the Commerce Department.

The year ended on a positive note as the October-December trade deficit declined to $20.57 billion, down 10.2 percent from its third-quarter level. It was the smallest quarterly imbalance in …