Blog

The Fed and President Obama got the headlines they wanted. The NYT wrote Friday that the Fed will propose "," while the WSJ said that "." The rules could mean a change in the mechanics of financial compensation, and thus for Read More

State and local governments increased their borrowing by 8.3 percent on an annualized basis between April and June, according to the Fed flow of funds . While the number isn't eye-popping against the past decade's history, what's unusual is that stat Read More

The Federal Reserve is to regulate compensation by the nation's largest banks -- including, inevitably, some big New York firms now raking in big profits thanks to government bailouts. The upshot for Governor Paterson and state lawmakers in Albany Read More

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s proposed capital program falls short of what downstate's transit assets need, and, what's more, the MTA can't even afford the insufficient amount of spending it has proposed, said state Dep Read More

There are no grounds for optimism in released this morning by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Net personal income tax receipts were down $83 million, or 4 percent, from the same month in 2008—and a full 12 percent below the August 2007 level Read More

David Leonhardt's in today's New York Times Business Section (given more prominent play on the Times ) touts a slight recent increase in weekly earnings as evidence that the recession isn't causing widespread pay cuts after all. Read More

Construction costs throughout New York are falling, according to a data analysis by the New York Building Congress. Materials and labor costs for office buildings are down 10 percent since last year, with costs for apartment buildings down 9 percent, Read More

Despite the prospect of exploding budget gaps in the future, Albany has taken only modest steps toward streamlining state government, such as closing a few prisons and offering $20,000 buyouts to state employees. Read More

Workforce Reduction Plans (WRPs) submitted by state agencies will save $260 million over the next two years "through a combination of severance payments, attrition, and the elimination of funded vacancies," the. Pardon us for holding our applause. Read More

New York City will track the whereabouts of its 379 building inspectors with GPS technology installed, not in their city-issued vehicles, but in their cell phones. Read More