Between 1990 and 1997, poor economic fundamentals and a prolonged hangover from excessively rapid growth in the 1980s caused house prices in the New York metropolitan area to grow much more slowly than prices nationwide; these factors played a smaller role in the decline of upstate New York's...

The buildup of debt in the late 1990s has raised concerns about the U.S. nonfinancial corporate sector's health and its vulnerability to economic downturns. An analysis of the sector suggests that while small firms are experiencing some weakness, corporations as a group are in good financial shape.