The city has weathered the recession better than was feared, but the view is often bleaker outside Manhattan.

New York City has weathered the recession far better than was feared during the financial crisis, but outside of Manhattan the view is often bleaker.

New York City has weathered the recession far better than was feared during the financial meltdown. Yet outside of Manhattan the view can be much bleaker.

Goldman Sachs showed restraint after a Supreme Court ruling that political ads were protected as free speech.

Kenneth I. Starr is accused in a scheme that has become the talk of celebrities from Hollywood to the Hamptons.

Ben Lapin, above, in the office of Stock Market Recovery Consultants, where he and his partner, Mitchell Markowitz, file claims against banks and brokerage houses.In a cramped office in Brooklyn, Stock Market Recovery Consultants, a tiny firm with no legal credentials, fights to recover investors’ stock losses.

The New York attorney general is said to be scrutinizing eight banks that may have provided misleading information to rating agencies to inflate the grades of securities.

Senator Charles E. Schumer is known as an advocate for the financial industry, but he has kept a low profile as Congress considers regulatory reform.

Gov. David A. Paterson and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg know where their revenues come from, and are resisting efforts to rein in Wall Street’s antics.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that with the exception of jobs in the securities industry, most measures of the regional economy suggest the recession has run its course.