New York City, N.Y.'s GO rating remains on CreditWatch with positive implications where it was placed on Feb. 3, 1998. The GO rating reflects: * A broad stable economic base that, while performing well over the past few years—reflecting the city's strong financial sector, export businesses, and tourism, still lags behind the nation as a whole; * A long history of GAAP balanced budgets with a record surplus in fiscal 1997 and a comparable surplus expected in the current year; * Excellent financial control systems that have allowed the city to function with very slim financial cushions; and * Extraordinarily high debt and significant ongoing capital needs. The GO rating was placed on CreditWatch with positive implications due to recent
