The gala raised $2.8 million at its recent fall benefit, a drop from the previous year's total of $3.3 million.
Times are still good in New York City, after a long boom coupled with the benefits of a drop in crime.
Of the roughly $166-million General Fund budget this year, about $130 million is being spent on salaries and benefits, a 7.6% drop compared with the prior year, according to a city report.
Banks around the world have benefited from a drop in loan impairment charges over the last three months after setting aside large sums last year because of a worsening economic environment.
NYSE Euronext said that its third-quarter profit rose 2 percent as it benefited from a drop in taxes, which more than offset a slight slowdown in revenue.
Domestic sales rose 10.5percentt in 2004, to 1.58 million vehicles, benefiting from a drop in interest rates early in the year and a flurry of year-end sales.
The weekly unemployment data shows that 305,000 people signed on for unemployment benefit last week, a drop on the 310,000 who filed initial claims the previous week.
Banks around the world have benefited from a drop in charges for bad loans over the last quarter after setting aside large sums last year because of a worsening economic environment.
Businesses also benefited with a drop in inflation, with the report's index inflation figure dropping 0.8 to a February figure of 97.1.
Elsewhere, shares of agri-business Archer Daniels Midland popped after a Citigroup analyst said the company would benefit from a drop in the price of corn.
Phillip Lee benefitted from a drop in the Liberal Democrat vote in Bracknell of 15% to return to parliament with a majority of more than 20,000.
