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
Blog
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
As France-based Veolia Transportation under an initial five-year contract, New Orleans's transit workers will be growing accustomed to a private-sector-style pension scheme, too. 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
Attention New York: on the eve (roughly) of the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse, a new report from J.P.Morgan in London opines that because of the effects of eight likely financial-regulatory changes worldwide, "what is certain ... 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
The financial and corporate sectors' highest rollers during the boom-and-bubble period have also been hit hardest by the recession. A on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal reviews how the downturn is affecting the incomes of th Read More
Jay Walder, Gov. Paterson's pick to head the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, took questions from Democratic senators today ahead of their Thursday vote on his nomination. Of interest: Walder's views on private-public partnerships and whethe Read More