Economics

The state has a long history of closing budget gaps. This time should be no different. The reasons for the gaps vary over time. This time is different due to the delay in tax collections in the state to November of 2023 due to the climate change induced events that had taken place. What is the same factor this time is that capital gains declined appreciably in 2022 into 2023 due to the downturn in the markets. The turnaround for the markets did not take place until late 2023.

Smith's Research & Gradings believes the Fed is likely to raise rates by 25 bps at its June meeting.

Hawkins Delafield & Wood, New York City's legendary municipal law firm, published a "Hawkins Advisory" that reviews the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 (FDTA), which was signed into law on December 23, 2022; developments in enforcement actions regarding limited offerings; and the status of certain pending rulemaking by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB).

Wow! The U.S. economy added 467,000 jobs last month, keeping the unemployment rate in the 4.0% area. Also impressive is that there were large upward revisions from previous months. We say 'wow' because there was such negative sentiment prior to the release of the jobs number.

The $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, which has garnered the support of the Biden Administration, calls for billions in funding for traditional infrastructure.

In truth, high-tax blue states are net "receivers" of federal funds, New York foremost among them, according to Matthew Schoenfeld, a Chicago-based municipal bond portfolio manager. He gored one of the sacred cows of New Yorkers (and many municipal analysts). What's more, Mr. Schoenfeld did it publicly — in the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Page on July 22, 2020. Governor Andrew Cuomo, (D.NY) has repeatedly flouted a list of "donor states" topped by New York, which "gives" $29 bln. a year more than it "got" from 2015 through 2018. The source of the Governor's claim is the Rockefeller Institute's "Giving or Getting" which was published in 2017.