NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 7/16/98 –- Standard&Poor's today raised its ratings on New York City's approximately $27 billion in outstanding G.O. debt to single-'A'-minus from triple-'B'-plus and removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they were placed Feb. 3, 1998 (see list below). Standard&Poor's will hold a teleconference today at 2 p.m. EDT to discuss this rating action, please see accompanying advisory for details on how to access the call. The upgrade reflects: -- Improved financial performance. The city has produced recent budget surpluses, demonstrated willingness to curtail expenditure growth, and reduced the out-year gaps. In addition, the city has started to experience an increase in property tax revenues and has limited its use of
